


Butterflies With Punctured Wings

by AlexisDevanne



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: AbuseSurvivor!Liam, Action, Angst, Comfort, Demisexuality, Future Fic, Futuristic Slang, Happy Ending, Immortal!Scott, Liam-centric Narrative, M/M, Main Trope – Post Apocalypse, Mystery, Other characters get mentioned, Romance, Scott is more than he seems, Slow Burn, Some Humor, Sub Trope – Multiple Lifetimes, Sub Trope – Worst Case Scenario AU, The Whole Nine Yards Basically, The story does not erases the canon events of the TV Show's first 4 seasons, Trust Issues, developing feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-09
Updated: 2015-09-13
Packaged: 2018-02-16 18:47:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 99,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2280723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlexisDevanne/pseuds/AlexisDevanne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the year 3612, in a world inhabited by only 12 million humans, nineteen-year-old Liam is just trying to survive. Though a loner by circumstance, things start to change one day when he is rescued from an ambush by a mysterious stranger who looks at Liam like he’s an old friend even though Liam is pretty sure they’ve never met.</p><p> </p><p>  <strong>Edit: <em>This story has been completely rewritten from 1st POV to a more readable 3rd POV. Epilogue Uploaded!</em></strong></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A dark world aches for a splash of the Sun

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Anim3Fan4Ever](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anim3Fan4Ever/gifts).



> Originally meant to be a long-shot. But it just kept taking a life of its own—plus it seemed to be headed toward 30k+ words—so I decided to break it down into a Multi-Chaptered Fic. This way I can post stuff while I still write the rest. I’ll try to not make it longer than 6 chapters though.
> 
> Unbeta’d.

Liam took antipsychotics. Sure, kinda a strange way to start off an introduction but it’s the only way to explain why he found himself in such a particular situation. What kind of situation you ask? Well one where he’s being chased down by bandits for trying to raid their med kit.

Yeah it's not hard to guess what you’re thinking. Why oh why would Liam think that raiding a group of criminals was a good idea? Well it wasn’t. Even he will give you that. But he had no choice. The meds were his to begin with and if he didn’t get them back soon Liam might have started to hallucinate again. And in this world, not being able to stay 100% focused could be fatal nine times out of ten.

So as mentioned, those meds were Liam’s. Last week these bandits got the drop on him while he was taking a nap under a bench of what probably used to be a family park and stole all his gear. Normally Liam would just leave it at that, be happy that at least they didn’t take his life away. He would even take it as a warning that he needed to resettle somewhere else. It was a grat eats grat kind of world and the law wasn’t going to help anyone out here. Or really anyone who didn’t live in the Domes with the rest of the privileged nadirs.

However Liam couldn’t leave without his pills. Their effects only lasted for about two weeks. Yeah, those pills were trash. Like the _really_ cheap stuff. You’re probably wondering if that shit was really worth risking his life for.

Don’t judge until you’ve been in his shoes though. The last time Liam went without his meds it didn’t end quite so good for him. ~~Or the other person.~~. And he swore to himself never again.

That’s how Liam ended inside what he believed had previously been a warehouse. Or a bank. He could hardly tell the difference between the two without their personnel lodging around. It was mostly deserted and badly maintained if the cracks on the walls were anything to go by. He had tracked the band of pickpockets to here and was waiting to return the favor. However they always had someone stay on watch while the rest of them slept. _‘One of the few perks of having companions’_ , Liam conceded begrudgingly.

Seeing as a sneak attack wasn’t plausible and knowing that the clock was ticking on his prescription, Liam decided to jod it and just land a frontal assault. He took out the guard easily enough by sneaking behind him and submitting him with a chokehold. Liam took the guard’s EMD stick and electrocuted him for good measure. And for the satisfaction. You know, to teach them not to mess with him again.

Unfortunately he failed to take into consideration that shocking the guard would make him scream and therefore wake up the rest of his merry band.

There was no other way to say this. Liam screwed up. Big time. And in no time at all he was running for his life as bullets flew behind him because, _shit_ , he did not expect them to be packing automatics guns. In his haste to get away he took a wrong turn and all the sudden he was running through unfamiliar territory. With a sense of dread he realized that the path he’d taken was actually leading further into the bank instead of out of it. But turning back would mean immediate death so Liam just rushed forward in hopes that he would find some kind of back exit.

He turned left on a corridor and suddenly found himself face to face with another person.

“AAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah,” Liam shouted in panic as his adrenaline kicked in and he repeatedly swung the EMD stick at the other guy—dialed up at full power. Liam wasn’t sure if the stick was charged enough to kill, but at least its electro-muscular disruption should have had enough power to fry a person’s nerves upon contact. The other guy, however, screamed in alarm as well while raising his hands—palms forward—and dodging every one of Liam’s swings.

“Don’t don’t don’t don’t don’t!” he shouted back. “I’m not armed I swear! I’m just trying to get out!” he exclaimed doing an impressive backflip when Liam swung for his legs.

“Why should I believe you?” Liam countered before an explosion behind him made him lose his balance and rocketed him forward. The stranger caught Liam while avoiding getting accidentally zapped by the EMD stick and helped steadied him back to his feet. “What was that?” Liam asked while furiously pushing away from the other guy.

“A grenade,” the guy answered. “They have that,” he stated distractedly as he whirled around the cross-section. “Here, this way!” he sprung to the east, signaling for Liam to follow after him.

“Why should I trust you?” Liam shouted after him making him briefly spin around to face Liam.

“You want to get out too right?” He stated more than asked. “Well this way!” he exclaimed and kept running. Liam then heard a stampede of footsteps approaching from behind and decided to jod it! He ran after the stranger and hoped that he wouldn’t end up regretting it. “Over here!” the other guy shouted while entering a room. Following the command Liam leapt inside only to belatedly realize that he walked inside an empty vault with no exits.

And then his impromptu companion closed the vault behind them.

Liam broke out in cold sweat. “What do you think you’re doing?” Liam demanded, holding the EMD stick protectively in front of himself while keeping distance. _‘I could probably take him out’_ a part of his mind supplied. _‘But I don’t know what he’s packing’_ another part cautioned. “If this is your idea of a sick joke I ain’t laughing.”

“Easy now,” the stranger admonished, not even bothering to look Liam’s way as the guy dropped one of his backpacks to the floor and rummaged through it. “They won’t be able to reach us now and besides,” he took what looked like a timer out of the pack and showed it to Liam. “With this we’ll be able to blow ourselves an exit.”

 _‘A bomb!’_ Liam realized. “How did you get that?” he questioned, keeping his guard up as the unnamed stranger walked to the furthest wall and messed around with it.

Bomberman— _because at this point Liam needed a more proper way to refer to the stranger_ —shrugged his shoulders, still paying little attention to Liam. “I found their stash after I finally managed to break out from the binds they were holding me with. Took a couple of things I thought I could need before the shootout started,” he explained before finally giving Liam a half-glance. “I’m guessing you had something to do with that, huh?”

Liam’s face colored at that in embarrassment. He wasn’t quite used to having people point out his mistakes. Liam also must have temporarily lowered his gaze because next thing he knew Bomberman was screaming for him to duck and launching himself at Liam. They hit the floor as the bomb detonated and a large piece of debris fell on them. Well on the stranger who was on top of Liam. Liam begun to cough as they were immediately covered by a thick cloud of dust and before he knew it the stranger was pulling him up by the wrist and dragging Liam outside into the open air.

“How can you jodding walk?” Liam yelled, rubbing his eyes furiously with his free hand to get the dust out of them as he struggled to keep up with the stranger’s pace. “The wall fell on you!”

“What wall?” Bomberman questioned, still rushing Liam forward. “Nothing connected with me. Did you hit your head?” he asked.

And okay, maybe Liam’s head collided with the ground a little too roughly; but he could have sworn that part of the wall had collapsed on his temporary companion. Except if it _had_ then Bomberman probably wouldn’t have been able to shake it off so easily. Not unless he had superhuman strength and that was as unlikely as Liam sprouting wings. So maybe Liam had imagined it.

Regardless of what did or didn’t happen though, Liam buried his heels to the ground once he thought they covered enough distance and pulled his wrist away, making both of them come to a halt. After all Liam still needed to head back for his meds—he couldn’t be expected to just leave without them. Bomberman turned around with a confused look on his face but before Liam could inform him that this was where they parted ways, a bullet grazed the side of Liam’s leg.

“Jod!” Liam cursed and was unprepared for when the stranger hunched forward and lifted Liam over his shoulder before taking off. “What the-”

“Sorry but we gotta move!” Bomberman shouted, breaking into a dash. And _jod_ what kind of adrenaline kick was he on to be able to lift Liam like if he was a bag of cotton?

“Put me down!” Liam shouted, not liking how he wasn’t able to see where they were headed from the position he was in. “Where are you taking me?!”

“To the woods!” Bomberman yelled. “We’ll take cover there so please stop struggling before I drop you.”

“That’s the idea!” Liam shouted back until a barrage of bullets were shot at Bomberman’s feet—lifting the dirt as they ricocheted. “Change of thought, I’ll kill you if you drop me!”

“Noted!”

It wasn’t even 10 seconds after that that Liam started seeing trees on his peripheral view. And it was only then that he realized how fast they were moving. But before Liam could conjure up a good measure of the speed they were traveling, the stranger tripped and they fell rolling on the uneven ground.

“Fuck, are you okay?” Bomberman asked somewhere to Liam’s left. Liam gritted his teeth as he struggled to get up—only noticing a hand in front of his face when he lifted his gaze. Liam swatted the stranger’s hand away and got up on his own. He didn’t need anyone’s help. “Is your leg okay?” Bomberman asked instead, pulling his hand away. “Can you walk?”

“It was only a scratch,” Liam snubbed, not wanting to appear weak in front of company. Bomberman’s motives were still unknown to Liam so he couldn’t afford to display anything that placed him in a position of disadvantage. Besides Liam wasn’t lying. It didn’t feel like he received anything beyond a surface wound. In fact Liam figured he took more damage from having been flung to the ground just now than from the bullet that scratched up his leg.

The stranger nodded. “Well good because I don’t think we lost them yet,” he said turning around and waving at Liam to follow. “Let’s head deeper. I’ve been to these woods before and I think I know a cave we can hide in until those bandits give up pursuing us.”

“And why should I follow you?” Liam questioned even as he chased after his fellow escapee. So far it looked like a better option than facing another shower of bullets so don’t judge.

“You don’t,” Bomberman countered as he faced sideways to grin at Liam. “But I stole their bags,” he said motioning at his backpack plus the two messenger bags slung across his shoulders. _Seriously how was he able to run that fast with all of that and Liam on him?_ “And I think there’s food in one of them,” he advertised before giving Liam one final glance and trotting forward. “So yeah.”

 _‘Of course’_ Liam thought. _‘I didn’t manage to acquire my gear back so basically all I have left are the clothes on my back while he has everything else. So jodding unmagma’._

“I’m Scott by the way,” Bomberman supplied almost as an afterthought. Liam hummed at that to let him know that his words been acknowledged. However Liam didn’t offered up his own name. He was never that easy. Or trusting. And the rest was silence.

It took running around in the dark for about ten minutes but eventually they stumbled upon the advertised cave.

“Probably about midnight by now,” Bomberman—err, _Scott_ —commented, searching his pocket for a lighter as he hunched down to be able to walk through the cave’s entrance. It produced a green flame and Liam realized it must be a cooper lighter, which went out of style way before he was born.

“So are you a scavenger or a traveling pawnshop dealer?” Liam interrogated as he followed Scott into the cave. Because of the green glow Liam could see that although the cave looked small and barely noticeable from outside, it actually ran like 2 meters below the ground surface—providing ample space for at least two people to move about without obstruction. Scott looked at Liam and appeared to be confused by the question so Liam pointed to the lighter. “That’s an antique. Not many people carry things like that around here.”

Liam didn’t bother disguising the fact that he was still wary of the stranger. No sense pretending that he didn’t find Scott suspicious. Not with the way Liam hadn’t shown him his back since they met. Call Liam paranoid but he preferred not to get backstabbed.

Scott gave the lighter a fleeting glance before breaking out into a light chuckle. “No, nothing like that,” he said while dropping his bags down and sitting on the ground to go through them. “It belonged to a friend,” he explained. “He gave it to me as a parting gift and ever since I have always kept it close to me.”

“Must have been some friend,” Liam commented dismissively, more concerned with taking inventory of all the items Scott was taking out of the bags.

“He was,” Scott answered in a lamenting tone that almost got Liam distracted enough to catch the metal bar thrown at him. Liam fumbled with it for a moment before he was able to grasp it properly; and after he did Liam realized it was another EMD stick. Liam forgot his at the vault after the explosion so it was nice to at least be equipped with another weapon. Plus this one had the stun settings labeled around the adjustable nob. “Hmm, what are these?” Scott suddenly asked, shaking a small white container with his left hand.

Liam’s eyes immediately widen. “That’s mine!” he demanded with authority, clutching the EMD stick tightly with his right hand and thrusting his other one forward in beseech. Scott stopped shaking the meds and carefully handed them to Liam with a raised eyebrow. Liam didn’t know why the action made him feel embarrassed, but for some reason Liam found that he was unable to keep eye contact with Scott after retaking possession of the pills. “Thanks,” Liam muttered under his breath in an effort to get Scott to stop paying attention.

It worked.

Scott continued examining the contents of the rest of the bags without posting a single question about Liam’s reaction and Liam guessed he was grateful for it. Scott also tossed Liam a salve he found for Liam’s leg. Liam did speak up again when Scott pulled out a ragged cream blanket. This time Scott did questioned Liam about it because he was puzzled about why Liam would choose a filthy blanket when there were three other in the bag in better condition. Liam just answered that it was his and left it at that. And if you asked Liam, _that_ was already more than Scott needed to know.

Shrugging it off, Scott opened the last bag with a “Bingo!” or whatever that meant as the last bag was stuffed with cans of beans, bread and canteens filled with water.

Liam noticed that within the entire inventory—filled with snares, blankets, smoke grenades, gauze rolls and wound dressings—Scott hadn’t found a single gun, blade or really anything else that could function as a weapon besides the EMD stick he gave Liam. Meaning that, if anything else, Liam had the upper hand. Regrettably the same conclusion seemed to dawn on Scott as well as he noticed Liam tightening the grip on the stick—thumb on the on-switch.

“It’s alright, you can keep that one,” Scott said raising his hands—palms facing forward with the lighter still on his right hand. “I can make due without.”

“A pacifist then?” Liam questioned petulantly. “Never thought I’d meet one around these parts who’s still alive.” Scott only gave a lopsided smile and shrugged like he was completely unbothered by the other’s distrust. Just _what_ exactly was up with him? “Pfft, better for me then,” Liam dismissed while eyeing the pack of food. 

“It’s not nice to stare at other people’s meals you know?” Scott commented, briefly eyeing the weapon in Liam’s hand before locking eyes with him. “Especially since the other person is perfectly willing to share.”

Admittedly Liam got red-faced at being caught red-handed. “What?!” but he wasn’t going to admit it aloud. “I wasn’t-”

“So you weren’t evaluating whether to steal from me now or after I turned my back to you?” Scott asked with a jodding friendly smirk like if he was having a go at Liam.

“I’m not a jodding thief!” Liam argued while lowering the EMD stick to prove his point. “And I can fend for myself just fine thank you very much. I don’t need your charity.”

“Fair enough,” Scott said, lowering his left hand and throwing Liam a full loaf of bread. “Then let’s eat and call it a night,” he exclaimed while grabbing a piece of bread for himself. “Because I don’t know about you Blue Eyes but I’m whipped.”

“Don’t call me Blue Eyes!”

~x~x~

Liam didn’t sleep much that night. But then again neither had Scott. _‘He was whipped alright’_ , Liam thought. _‘The jodding liar’_. Liam had probably dozed off for about 15 minutes after settling down with his back against the wall from his side of the cave. And had only closed his eyes after Scott had gone to ‘sleep’. But upon opening his eyes again Liam noticed that Scott was no longer where Liam had last seen him.

Alert, Liam sat up without making a sound and tried to spot him. Yet without Scott’s lighter the cave was too dark and Liam couldn’t see a thing.

That was until lighting struck and the whole place alighted but for a brief moment. Liam noticed three things then. First that beside his cream colored blanket he had another blanket wrapped around him. Second, that a heavy downpour was falling outside—making Liam thankful that he had a roof over his head. And third, that Scott had taken residence by the cave’s entrance.

Another flash of thunder confirmed that it was indeed Scott crouched by the cave’s entrance and not some other trespasser. Apparently he had chosen to take vigilance while Liam rested. Liam considered letting Scott know that he was awake but Liam didn’t want to risk inviting more conversation. Instead Liam settled back down and kept watch on his companion of the night just in case Scott decided to sell Liam out to their pursuers. Liam knew he must had spent hours with his guard up just observing Scott stare up at the sky; but at some point sleep must had taken over Liam because the next thing he knew he was being shaken awake.

“Rise and shine Blue Eyes!”

“Jod!”

Liam immediately tried to roll away but he had forgotten he laid next to the cave wall and ended up banging his head hard against it. “Grat feces on a stick!” Liam cursed, clutching the back of his head with both hands. Liam opened his eyes and winced away from Scott’s stupid white smile. _‘What is he so happy about anyway?’_

As if reading Liam’s question on his forehead, Scott lifted his right hand to show Liam a dead jackrabbit. “The snares work,” Scott proclaimed. “I caught breakfast,” he added before standing upright and heading for the exit but not before brightly imparting some last minute instructions. “Gonna go skin it so drink water or go drain the snake or whatever but don’t go too far because the meat cooks fast!”

Liam stayed rooted on his spot for about 3 more minutes trying to figure out how he got himself into this situation. Well yeah he tried to raid a bandit’s hideout at night without any actual plan. That’s one. And even though Liam got his meds and blanket back, the rest of his gear was as good as gone now. There’s no way he could go back a second time since they’ll probably be expecting him now. Not to mention that Liam had been wearing the same clothes for five days now.

Taking a whiff of himself Liam figured that he must reek by now. He wouldn’t particularly know seeing as he damaged his sense of smell a long time ago. However from what Scott pulled out of the bags last night there didn’t seem to be a change of clothes available. Speaking of Scott...

What was Liam supposed to do now?

 _‘Should I flee?’_ This was probably Liam’s best opportunity to escape. _‘I could grab the food bag and make a run for it.’_ The EMD stick was still under Liam’s possession after all. _‘Or should try to figure him out? Listen to his story and see what else I could get out of him?’_ But that implied being social and maybe even cordial. Liam wasn’t sure he’d be able to pull off any of the two.

Taking the EMD stick with him just in case and stashing it inside his jacket, Liam cautiously made his way outside. It was morning alright; but between the beyond cloudy sky and the cover the trees provided, everything seemed dimmed. That was except for the stranger seating in front of a small fire as he skinned the rabbit. Taking advantage of the fact that Scott was probably too busy with his task to notice anything, Liam took it as an opening to study the guy more carefully.

The first thing Liam noticed was that he had black hair—or really really dark brown hair that actually looked black. Liam also had brown hair but his was lighter and known to look more golden under a certain light. Scott’s skin was also tanner than Liam’s—which in itself isn’t that hard since Liam was a Caucasian white male to begin with. But Liam wasn’t pale though. Sunlight has actually touched his skin. Yet for some reason Liam got the impression that Scott hadn’t been in the daylight for very long.

He had mentioned that he was being held captive after all. Liam wondered for how long exactly. Scott also had a very compact beard. Or a light scruff Liam should say. It was still more facial hair than Liam considering Liam’s only seemed to grow under his chin. Liam was actually quite envious of Scott’s though. At nineteen Liam felt like he should be able to grow it out more. But then again Scott was obviously older than Liam, though it didn’t seem like it was by much. Liam wondered how old he really was.

In a tight black t-shirt there was no question that Scott had muscles. They weren’t overly bulky but it was obvious he was in great shape. And with the way he had carried Liam over the shoulder last night as he ran—it was probably safe to say he had a great physique overall. But Liam wondered…

“How tall are you?” Liam asked before he could think things through. Scott’s face turned toward Liam, which meant he had heard. _Cover blown_. Sighing, Liam began to walk toward Scott and took a seat at the other side of the fire. Might as well keep warm, he guessed.

Scott smiled as Liam sat across from him before shifting his eyes to the upper left corner as he considered Liam’s question. “5’10” he answered which left Liam confused. Scott must have spotted it because he quickly corrected himself. “178 centimeters, I mean.”

 _‘Oh, ok’_. Liam tried to figure the correct measurement in his head with those numbers. Not that hard of course. “So that means you’re 1.78 meters tall,” Liam mumbled as he compared their heights in his head. As he thought, Scott wasn’t very tall but still bigger than Liam’s 1.72. "And how old are you?"

"I, uh..." Scott started, scratching the side of his face with his free hand as he pondered over it. "21?" he answered unsurely. And what? Did he honestly find it _that difficult_ to count higher than ten? But then again he probably never went to school. “Why'd you asked, Blue Eyes?” He questioned as he tied the newly skinned rabbit to a branch and dangled it over the fire.

“I told you to not call me that!” Liam admonished instead. “How would you like it if I called you Brown Eyes all the time?”

Scott shrugged. “I don’t mind pet names,” he said with a carefree smile that threatened to turn Liam’s stomach inside out with how nervous that made him. “But that would be silly because you already know my name,” he stated. And after a moment of silence he prompted. “That was my way of asking for your name by the way.”

“I got the hint!” Liam spat out glaring directly at the fire. Liam expected Scott to be bothered by the palpable animosity in his foul attitude but now Liam was beginning to think that Scott was simply unruffleable.

“So what should I call you,” Scott asked unperturbed in the most casual manner ever.

 _‘There’s obviously something wrong with him’_ , Liam thought because nobody was ever this patient with him. But alas Liam once again made no effort to answer the question. Instead Liam kept staring at the flames until-

“Here,” said Scott passing the branch for Liam to hold. The action was so sudden that Liam took hold of it without processing what he was actually doing. “Keep it just above the fire for a couple of minutes more,” Scott instructed as he stood up and dusted his cargo pants. “I’m gonna go get us some more bread to use as buns—never know when they might expire,” he said. “And besides,” he exclaimed cheerfully. “That way we won’t burn ourselves with the meat.”

Liam watched him go with that stupid fake cheery disposition of his and wanted nothing more than to throw the cooked bunny at his back. But Liam’s stomach growled then, making Liam realize how hungry he really was. Besides it wasn’t smart to waste food anyways.

When Scott came back the rabbit was almost done. He also brought with him two bottles of water and set one down next to Liam while flopping down to the ground by Liam’s other side.

“Smells great,” Scott stated while clapping one hand on Liam’s shoulder and giving it a squeeze. To say Liam almost jolted out of his skin was an understatement. He simply _did not_ do well with physical contact. Scott obviously noticed because he immediately removed his hand. “Sorry,” Scott muttered before splitting the bread with his hands.

Before long they’d both eaten satisfactorily and were ready to head out. Problem was that Liam didn’t have a planed course of action yet. _‘Where could I possibly go next? And were the bandits really done pursuing me? What will happen if I come across them again? Should I borrow one of Scott’s smoke grenades before we part? Should I even ask?’_

“The place where I used to crash isn’t that far away,” Scott commented startling Liam from his thoughts. “A day’s walk probably,” Scott mumbled as he got up to kick dirt to the fire—extinguishing it. “And unless I’ve been ransacked while I was away, I should still have a fair amount of clothes there. If you’re not in a hurry I could lend you some if you want.”

“Why would you do that?” Liam instantly questioned. He tried to keep the distrust away from his tone but whom was he kidding? The tension in his shoulders gave him away.

“Because you seemed like you could use the help,” he answered. “And I like helping.”

“Nobody likes helping!” Liam interceded. “At least not for free.”

Scott’s brow furrowed at that, like if Liam’s opinion confused him. “ _I_ like helping,” Scott stated again still looking a bit puzzled that someone would suggest anything but. After a moment of silence he looked away and then faced the cave. “I’ll get the backpacks ready. I’ll ah… just let me know okay?” Scott offered as he began to walk away. Liam wasn’t sure on the _how_ , but something in Scott’s expression made Liam believe that he had hurt Scott in some way. Liam didn’t know why he was bothered by it though.

“Liam!” he shouted after Scott. Liam was still sitting on the ground with his arms wrapped around his knees and vehemently refusing to look the other’s way.

Even so Liam still felt Scott stopping and turning around to face Liam’s way. “W-What?” Scott asked. Well, almost whispered to be more exact.

“My name,” Liam stated while glaring at the ground. “It’s Liam.”

When Liam heard no reply he chanced a glance at Scott. Liam didn’t know what he expected. Maybe laugh or a witty comment of how Scott knew Liam couldn’t keep away for long. That at least seemed in his nature from what Liam had observed so far. Instead Liam got Scott looking at him as if Liam had told him his grandma died.

“What?” Liam questioned unable to withstand the way Scott was looking at him any longer.

Scott seemed to shake himself out of it then, but his expression still looked just a puzzled. “Is that-” he started. “Is that your real name?”

And the question just baffled Liam. In fact Liam felt offended by it. “Why would I lie?” Liam countered a little pissed off. And yeah, he could probably think up half a dozen reasons why he would but that wasn’t the case. Liam wasn’t lying this time around and he needed Scott to believe that. Scott seemed to really be concentrating then and for a moment Liam was beginning to wonder if Scott had even heard him.

But then Scott’s eyes looked straight at Liam’s and it jumbled the latter. The look Scott gave was one someone typically reserved for some emotive moment—like meeting your child for the very first time or reuniting with a long lost friend. Liam was confused as to why _he_ of all people would be the recipient to one such look.

“I,” Scott started but then turned away, turning his back to the nineteen-year-old. “Liam is a nice name,” Scott commented casually as if just now hadn’t happened. “Thanks for telling me,” he said before continuing his trek to the cave.

“…”

That was definitely a weird moment and Liam knew it wasn’t just him. However… how was he supposed to know that by choosing to stick around for another day that their paths would remain forever intertwined?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well that's the basic introduction. In the next chapter we'll learn about Liam's past. Plus the setting will be more defined and some of the slang explained. But for now I guess I could spoil that in this world "grats" are double headed oversized rats, and that "magma" is the new way of saying something is cool.
> 
> Also even though the tags provides sufficient hints, I would so love to hear if you guys already have theories on what Scott's or Liam's deal is? Hopefully the story, the twists and the mystery will result to be as engaging as I hope. Thanks for reading!


	2. You won't always feel Emptier

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We learn Liam's backstory in this chapter. Also Scott is not so simple as he first appears.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the lateness. Work/School is complicated. Enjoy! Un-Beta'd.

From what Liam had read, there was a time when 9 billion humans inhabited the Earth. Last time he checked the census there were only 12 million left. Frankly Liam couldn’t believe that the world’s population was ever big enough to reach a billion—couldn’t even fathom what nine must had looked like.

Although most of the population of Norte Americana lived inside one of five Domes—those Domes only had the capacity to comfortably hold about 800,000 thousand inhabitants each. Liam didn’t know how it was with the rest of the world; but those who weren’t lucky enough to lead a cushioned life inside one of those Domes had to make due with surviving outside in the last war’s wreckage.

That last war dated back to 3548, so about sixty-something years ago. And even now—even with the bioterrorism reports vividly detailing the whole thing—Liam still found it hard to believe that there was ever such a thing as a zombie epidemic. Never seen one and frankly Liam found it hard to believe they existed. But history stated it like a fact. It professed that the virus that caused the zombification had been eradicated for more than fifty years now—and everyone inoculated.

However, whether it be for fear of the outside world or laziness from the government, most of civilization had chosen to stay quarantined inside their Domes. Only those considered to be human scum were ever banished from them. So it was no surprised that anyone and everyone Liam had encountered so far while roaming the mostly desolated nation of Norte Americana were all criminals to some degree.

People who lived outside the Domes were considered the lawless; the exiled; the unwelcomed; the feces of civilization. Though everyone in the Domes just referred to them as the _sub-genera_ because they were such a lost cause that they didn’t even require proper classification.

Liam knew better than to use that term out here though. It called on way too much attention, and Dome-born sub-genera rarely lasted long out here as it was.

Life expectancy outside the Domes wasn’t all that great and Liam had been surviving on scraps for almost a month now. Yet even with the world’s population being what it was, Liam still stumbled across other people every now and again. And it somehow always ended with Liam having to flee for his life. In all honesty Liam predicted that he’ll probably be dead and mauled by hungry grats before he got to turn twenty-five. That’s just the kind of world they lived in. 

Sorry, what was the point again? Oh yeah. The point was that Liam never made it a habit to settle down in one place for too long because there was always someone else who came along and figured that they deserved the spot more than you. Likewise Liam never stayed with the same company for more than a few hours—and never with the purpose of resting his eyes around them. No matter where he went Liam was always going to be the new guy of the group. So he would be owed no loyalty when things went south.

And things always went wrong around him. Like right about now.

“I thought you said that there weren’t any ursidaes here!” Liam screamed as the four-eyed beast tried to swipe his head off with its big paw. Liam ducked down just in time and crawled through the dried leaves on the ground to try to get away.

“There weren’t supposed to be!” Scott shouted as he suddenly appeared between Liam and the ursidae and recklessly shoved a smoke grenade into the ursidae’s mouth. It exploded the moment the beast’s fangs bit into it and had them going blind. “I hate bears,” Liam heard Scott mumble as the latter grabbed Liam’s elbow and rushed him away. He muttered an apology when he grabbed Liam but right then Liam couldn’t care less about his own issues with physical contact. His own personal safety was _always_ Liam’s top priority.

As they escaped Liam literally ran with one hand in front of his face for fear that he might crash into a tree with all of the smoke clouding his vision. Thankfully though, apparently Scott _did_ know the woods as well as he claimed because they escaped there without a single scratch.

When they finally made it out of the woods Liam fell to his knees and almost kissed the ground with how happy he was to finally be out of there.

Scott hunched over with his hands on his knees as he made a show of catching his breath. Then he looked over at Liam and grinned. “That was kinda fun, wasn’t it?” he asked and Liam stared at him bewilderedly. “Nice way to get the heart pumping.”

“You’re jodding mental,” Liam answered instead. “Who in their right mind stands in front of an ursidae like that? Do you have a death wish?” Liam questioned, angered with the way Scott had shielded him like that.

“But it was going to attack you,” Scott stated looking confused and Liam hated him for that. “I had to do something.”

“Then next time you do something, do it from a safer distance!” Liam scolded. “You didn’t have to get that close if all you were going to do was throw a jodding grenade at it! Because if you get hurt you best believe that I’m just going to take your bags and run. I _don’t_ have time to nurse some dimmed horrenda-stain!”

Scott frowned at Liam but the nineteen-year-old didn’t care. Liam meant what he said and if Scott really was being truthful about serving as Liam’s guide for the next 24 hours then it’d be better if the twenty-one-year-old started getting with the program. They weren’t friends so Liam would appreciate it if Scott stopped acting like they were.

“What ever happened to saying ‘fucking’ instead of ‘jodding’?” Scott uttered what must have possibly been the most absurdly random sentence he could have ever utter. 

And really... “What?”

To say that Liam hadn’t noticed Scott’s flare of opting for a more _peculiar_ vocabulary would be a lie. Some of the catchphrases he used were simply lost on Liam. And Liam was pretty sure that Scott called the ursidae from a minute ago a ‘bear’ or something equally ridiculous. But Scott’s constant use of retro curse-words like ‘fuck’ was… actually pretty magma now that Liam thought about it. 

Liam kinda felt stumped right then because one part of him was still mad at Scott for the senseless stunt he pulled but the other part of Liam wondered if Scott liked reading. Because where else would he be getting this material from?

_’Why did Scott have be so frustrating?’_

“You’re a jodding nadir. I hope you know that,” Liam stated as he got up on his feet again and padded himself to check that he hadn’t dropped anything. Liam relaxed when he felt the EMD stick through his jacket—thankful that he hadn’t dropped it. Even though it was completely useless against ursidaes because of their immunity to lighting—against people it was always a hit.

“Is that a step up from being a stupid horrenda-turd?” Scott asked from behind Liam. The latter turned to correct Scott because Liam said ‘stain’ not ‘turd’ but stopped when he saw the jolly grin on Scott’s face. _‘Why is he always smiling?’_ questioned Liam. He also pondered why the other’s complete absurdness made his heart accelerate the way it was doing right then. _‘He can’t possibly be having fun just by talking to me. Or is this a ploy to get a rise out of me? If that’s the case then I won’t give him the satisfaction’_.

Gritting his teeth Liam turned around and started marching forward. Scott had to jog to catch up with Liam but once he did Liam let the other take the lead because it wasn’t like Liam himself knew where they were going in the first place.

They walked in silence for a while and Liam could feel himself progressively calming down. Liam gave a quick glance backwards to make sure they weren’t being followed and then just focused all of his attention to the back of Scott’s head.

There were no such things as transports outside of the Dome so everyone here had to walk to cover the distances. What that meant was that there was little chance to make a quick getaway if an altercation got physical.

The fact that Scott was clearly the faster one of the two probably should have unnerved Liam more than it did. Liam still wasn’t all that clear on Scott’s intentions. For all Liam knew Scott could be a cannibal faking niceness just so that he could lead his unsuspecting prey inside his secret lair and eat. Liam had no way of outrunning him if that was the case; and Liam’s only advantage was the EMD stick that Scott had no trouble evading the last time Liam tried using it on him.

_‘Why don’t I feel more nervous?’_

“You know, you’re pretty quick on your feet,” Scott commented suddenly almost as if reading Liam’s thoughts and the nineteen-year-old just sighed because even if he couldn’t see Scott’s face, Liam could feel him smiling. “Not many people can outrun an ursidae you know.”

Was that Scott’s attempt at a compliment? Liam was thankful that Scott had his back to Liam because for some inexplicable reason Liam’s face felt heated and he didn’t want Scott to get the wrong impression and assume that Liam was blushing. Because he wasn’t okay?

And sure, for someone like Liam who barely had anything to live by, he was pretty fit. He was proud to say that he had muscle on him. It’s actually one of the few things Liam liked about himself. But where was Scott trying to get with such pointless comparisons?

“Yeah well I’m obviously not as fast as you,” Liam hissed between gritted teeth. And this was it, he could feel it. Liam’s fight or flight instincts were finally kicking in. The fingers enclosed in his sweaty palms began itching for action. This was the moment when Scott would be unmasked and forced to reveal his real self. And _then_ Liam would have a legitimate reason to zap him with the EMD stick.

“Aww, thanks,” Scott muttered—scratching the back of his head with that fake modesty of his and Liam just wanted to fall over and break something. Was Scott even real?

“I wasn’t complimenting you,” Liam spat just to be spiteful.

“Oh,” Scott said, glancing back and giving Liam an embarrassed smile. “I, uh, don’t mind me then. It’s just been quite a long time since anybody sassed me and I guess I’m a little out of it.”

For Shepherd’s sake! There Scott went again with _another_ retro word! What did ‘sass’ even mean? And why is he even apologizing? Liam didn’t know what to make of Scott and it was honestly frustrating him. Scott’s simplicity couldn’t possibly be that genuine! Not when he says things like ‘turd’ and ‘bear’ and ‘fuck’ and ‘bingo’ and other magma things like that! Scott had to be more complex than that and if Liam didn’t figure him out by the end of the day he was going to go insane.

“Do you read?” Liam found himself asking before he could stop the impulse.

“Huh?” Scott slowed his trek until he was walking next to his charge. Scott had a thoughtful expression as if lost in recollection but then he shrugged his shoulders and frowned. “Not for what feels like centuries though.”

And maybe Liam shouldn’t have felt as excited as he did to hear the confirmation. And he definitely shouldn’t have allowed that excitement to be displayed on his face so openly. But it’s been years since Liam encountered another person who’s able to read.

“I can so relate,” Liam uttered and immediately felt like a dimcicle for it. Especially when Scott’s eyes crinkled with amusement. Suddenly Liam felt very defensive about it. “Hey are you doubting my word? I’ll have you know that when I was twelve I read terabytes worth of published works and stories. Had to have my vision corrected even! How much have you read?” Liam challenged.

However instead of answering, Scott latched on to something else entirely. “Vision correction,” he singled out with intrigue. And Liam wanted to die right then when he realized his mistake. Liam was supposed to be the one getting information out of Scott, _not the other way_. “Fancy. So I take it you weren’t always a nomad,” Scott stated more than asked. And this is why Liam hated conversation. Because it exposes things he rather stayed hidden.

“Jod off,” Liam said walking off.

~x~x~

_…It’s true. Liam didn’t always live his life as a vagabond. Wasn’t always a sub-genera. Believe it or not Liam once used to live in a Dome. His family wasn’t exactly rich per se. Even among the privileged nadirs they were low-middle class. But they lived well enough and that’s what mattered._

_When Liam was seven he got diagnosed with Schizophrenia. There’s actually a brain operation to cure this kind of disease that Liam could be submitted to but it was way too expensive. Treating it for life instead of curing it was actually way more affordable and cost-effective. Even so, because his mom and his stepdad loved Liam so much, they started to save up for it. The plan was for Liam to have the surgery as a gift for his 18th birthday. Liam was a happy child back then._

_However that never came to be. His stepdad died in a factory accident when Liam was nine. In the following years his mom struggled to make due until she could no longer afford to leave the money for the operation untouched. When Liam turned twelve he decided to cancel his med subscription without letting his mom know in order to reduce their expenses. Liam remembered that he just wanted to help out. No other sentiment had accompanied his decision. At the time he had honestly thought that it was for the best._

_Worst. Decision. Of. His. Life._

_At first all he heard were voices that weren’t there. And it happened all the time. Nonetheless Liam learned how to tune them out by enclosing himself between four walls and immersing himself in works of fiction. Liam must have read thousands of stories and no doubt became the most antisocial kid ever in the Dome. But it was for a good cause. He was never great at keeping friends anyway so what if he alienated the very few ones that had for whatever reason remained? They wouldn’t have lasted anyways._

_But then the hallucinations started. It began with monsters that had skulls for faces and would chase Liam down everywhere he went. Yet unfortunately it didn’t stop there. Less obvious manifestations started to shroud his head until eventually Liam couldn’t tell what was real from what wasn’t._

_It was around that time that Liam’s mom started cohabiting with a new guy. One that was much older than her but wealthy. He noticed that Liam wasn’t taking his medications right away but promised not to tell Liam’s mom. The man even paid for Liam’s visual correction surgery, which honestly wasn’t all that expensive to begin with since it was a basic human need and hence made affordable. But he’d offered even though he didn’t have to. He was nice. Liam liked him…_

_Until the abuse started._

_At first Liam wasn’t certain. He thought that he was imagining the whole thing and that the bruises on his body were of his own doing. That was until one day Liam caved and took the one pill he had saved in his drawers for such an occasion. It was probably past its expiration date but it still worked. Its effect took some time to kick in but afterward everything became all too clear real fast._

_Liam’s head had unclouded just as his mom’s lover had finished abusing him for the last time. That night the man took him and his mom for dinner, and at that restaurant that man knelt down on one knee and proposed to Liam’s mother. The whole room started clapping._

_Never before had Liam felt a rage similar to the one he felt when he stabbed his abuser’s neck with the steak knife in front of a gasping crowd. The man died before the paramedics could get there._

_Scared, Liam ran away and never looked back._

~x~x~

That happened when Liam was fourteen. To this day he still didn’t know what happened with his mom. As Liam nibbled on the warm bread Scott handed to him Liam wondered, not for the first time, what had become of his mom after he left. Liam was the cause of most of her expenses so on theory she should had been able to make due just fine without Liam there. But could things ever be that simple?

“I swear that one of these days this is going to stop working and then I don’t know what I’ll do,” Scott murmured aloud as he tucked his lighter inside his pocket after having held it below his own piece of bread. “It’s so warm now I barely want to eat it.”

Liam’s lips cracked a small smile at that because he understood the feeling well. Just holding the bread between his fingers heated up his whole body so nicely that Liam was having trouble just taking a full bite of it in fear that the toasty feeling would disappear. Liam must have not been looking where he was going because next thing he knew he was bumping into Scott’s back.

Securing his bread after almost dropping it, Liam scowled at Scott for stopping so suddenly without warning. “What gives?” Liam questioned indignantly.

“Did you hear that?” Scott asked in a hushed tone that put Liam on high alert. Liam’s eyes quickly roamed their surroundings but came up short of sighting anything nefarious. Yet before he could question Scott about it, Scott all of the sudden sprinted northwest of them without a single word. “Hey!” Liam shouted after him—and after a moment of indecision Liam gave chase. “Scott!” he called again when he was beginning to lose sight of his dark-haired companion. “I said wait!”

Liam ran for what had to be at least 8 minutes and he had already lost sight of Scott about 5 minutes ago. Liam was beginning to lose hope of ever finding him again. The thought of being lost without any food or gear combined with the fact that Liam was breathless from his run had Liam struggling to fight down his anxiety. But then he caught sight of a graveyard to the far left. Seeing no other available option to where Scott could have gone too, Liam slowly made his journey there.

As Liam got closer to it he involuntarily found himself wrapping his arms around himself.

In the Domes the bodies of the deceased were cremated without exception. Liam had never really questioned it until he fled his home—so once outside the Dome Liam was a bit surprised to learn that that wasn’t the practice everywhere else. Outside the Dome, corpses were just left to rot in plain sight, though some of them were buried to hide the smell. Then there were these weird places called graveyards, which were basically a spooky collection of cadavers and...

…let’s just say that Liam wasn’t particularly fond of graveyards.

Okay, yeah. As previously stated, Liam wasn’t exactly sold on the idea of zombies. He still had trouble believing they ever existed. But you can’t deny that there was certainly something alarming about being surround by the bodies of the dead. Liam had never actually entered a graveyard before and under normal circumstances he would never even consider it. But the footsteps in the mud were definitely Scott’s so Liam felt like he had no choice in the matter.

The place was definitely abandoned though—the fact that most of the stone markers in Liam’s peripheral vision were just rubble could attest to that. However a chill still ran down Liam’s spine as he powered through the graves. He was just glad it was still daylight. He was about to call out for Scott but fortunately Liam caught sight of his target not too far from where he was standing.

Taking a deep breath in to calm himself, Liam carefully made his way toward Scott—faltering in the last steps when Liam finally caught sight of what had the twenty-one-year-old so preoccupied. Scott was crouched on his knees in front of the body of a blond female. Her skin seemed warm but her neck…

“Is she-” Liam began but Scott nodded in affirmation before he could get the rest of the sentence out. Of course Liam’s natural reaction to that was to slightly panic. “Are the-”

“No,” answered Scott forlornly, anticipating Liam’s question again. “The ones responsible were already long gone by the time I got here,” he answered. “We aren’t in any immediate danger.”

So the murderers responsible for strangling the girl were gone. That… somehow didn’t add up in Liam’s head. “How do you know that for sure?” Liam asked, his eyes monitoring their surroundings for anything amiss. “In fact, how did you even find her?”

And honestly that was the bigger question of the two. Because they were nowhere near here when Scott had taken off. So how?

“I heard her scream,” Scott answered dejectedly, still lying stagnant in front of the recently departed blonde. His lack of movement was actually starting to irk Liam out. Liam simply did not want to stay here any longer than they needed to.

Ignoring the impossibility of Scott’s statement Liam urged for them to leave. “We should get out of here either way. This is obviously not the safest place to be from the looks of it,” Liam cautioned. But to deaf ears apparently because Scott _**did not move!**_. Not even a millimeter and it was honestly beginning to infuriate Liam because what jodding reason could he possibly have to stay?! Unless… unless… “Did you know her?”

Scott slowly shook his head at that. “No, but I did know a banshee just like her,” he stated. And sorry but what?

“A banshee?” Liam repeated the word, carefully sounding it off to make sure he got it right. “What’s that?”

The question seemed to startle Scott out of his trance because he finally glanced away from the girl only to give Liam a sheepish look. “Um, well, that’s kind of an all-girl cult,” he explained and for some reason he sounded nervous about it. “I once had a friend that um, yeah. Sorry for running off like that,” he switched at the end.

Liam narrowed his eyes at Scott’s obvious avoidance of the question but honestly it’s not like Liam really cared. All Liam wanted was to get out of here as quickly as possible. “So can we go now?” he asked impatiently. “You said if we walked all day we’d arrive at your place by sundown. And that estimate probably didn’t account for us getting sidetracked. So can we stop wasting time please?”

At Liam’s words Scott finally straightened his stance until the blue-eyed-teen had to once again look up to meet his eyes. Liam thought they were at last gonna get a move on but then Scott’s gaze drifted back to the body on the ground. “We will,” said Scott. “But first I got to bury her.”

“I’m sorry but what?” Liam countered that statement exasperatedly—no longer caring if it came out hostile or not. _He just wanted to ditch this place already_. “Who cares if you bury her or not? She’s already dead! Nobody is going to come to mourn her! She’s not our problem. She’s already nothing, she’s dead!”

To be honest Liam wasn’t sure how to describe Scott’s face right then. His expression was conflicted for sure; and maybe mixed in with sorrow. There was no anger in his brown eyes but they did hold disappointment. The strange thing being that he looked like he was disappointed with himself instead of with Liam.

_‘Why did such a face made me want to cry?’_ was the unwelcomed thought that rudely traveled through Liam’s mind.

“Look,” Liam said with less of a temper but facing away from Scott. “If you want to send her away so badly them just light her up in flames. It’s what most people do anyways. Just don’t dawdle because if you don’t catch up to me by the time I step outside of here then I’m just going to continue on without you.”

And with that Liam completely turned his back to Scott and began walking away.

~x~x~

Scott caught up with Liam about four minutes after Liam had stepped out of the graveyard. Liam _might have_ lingered around for a little more than he had originally planned to. Yet either way Scott wordlessly took the lead again without any fuss and Liam kept himself from asking if Scott was able to properly disposed of the girl’s body or not.

Maybe it was because Liam still had a Dome state of mind but he genuinely did not see what was the deal with some of the sub-genera and their insistence for remembering the dead. It just seemed so wasteful to Liam.

“We’re here,” announced Scott after hours of walking in complete silence. Hearing his voice again frankly startled Liam and Scott hadn’t even spoken that loudly to begin with. The Sun was just setting behind them so with the little light they still had Liam managed to make out what—if he was not mistaken—looked to be an abandon church. Liam almost laughed and he did not comprehend the reason why.

Because somehow the fact that Scott lived in a church felt so completely fitting.

The land around the church was absolutely barren of any pasture or edification. The utterly desolated area made the church stand out like a severed thumb to any by-passer. Nobody in their right minds would walk in there and expect not to find hostile company. Vagabonds knew to avoid places like this one. So in a way sheltering yourself in here made perfect sense.

Hiding in plain sight. Ingenious.

They entered the place with extreme caution but once inside it was obvious the church was completely deserted. “Alright!” exclaimed Scott as he dropped his bags and went around the room opening and checking every cabinet, bench and anything within his reach really. Liam however slowly made his way to the altar to stare at the statue of a woman with a star-decorated veil on top of her hair.

‘ _La Virgen de Guadalupe_ ’ read the tag of her pedestal. Liam wondered who she was and the reason she seemed to be the centerpiece of the altar.

“Think fast!” Scott warned from behind the nineteen-year-old and Liam turned around only for his face to be hit with fabric. Pulling it away from himself Liam realized that Scott had thrown him a sleeveless red shirt and a pair of gray colored shorts. _And they were clean!_

Liam glanced back at Scott—and thank the Shepherd he did—because Scott threw yet another thing at Liam which he caught with his left hand. This time it was a _FaShaLa_ , which was the not-so-imaginative brand-name for the shaving laser used on facial hair.

“Haha, you look like a baby deer just holding that like you have no idea what it’s for,” Scott laughed and Liam probably would have blushed if he had any idea what Scott was talking about.

“A what now?” Liam asked. _‘Did he just call me dear?’_

Scott just shook his head. “The extinct cousin of the cerv-moose. Don’t worry about it. Bad joke,” he excused while pointing behind him with his thumb. “The washroom is that chamber over there. The place’s piping is connected to a river nearby and since we’re not in winter it should probably work. And no offense man, but you stink. So yeah, you should definitely go first. Free of charge,” he announced with this goofy lopsided grin on his face.

Liam wanted to rebuked the comment about his smell but Scott was smiling and Liam had almost forgotten how his smile looked like ‘cause he hadn’t done so since this morning and- _Grat feces_ Liam did not need this right now! So with a nasty scowl on his face Liam brushed past Scott and slammed the door to the washroom. Once inside Liam deposited everything on the podium at his side and made his way to the faucet attached to the top part of the tiled wall.

There was a pump right underneath it, which Liam pulled up but nothing happened. Pushing it down resulted in the same thing. In a sudden bout of desperation Liam frantically repeated the motion again and again until he suddenly found his entire frame drenched in icy water. Liam could have cried for joy right then because it’s been _years_ since he experienced the simple wonders of being able to take a humble shower.

“Please don’t let this be a dream.”

~x~x~

Liam must have been in the washroom for over an hour before the call of his hungry stomach provided him with the strength to detach himself from the shower. Scott made no comment of it when Liam rejoined in the main room. Instead Scott just mentioned that he already put the beans to soak and asked his guest to watch over the boiling water while he bathed. Liam begrudgingly obeyed the request because hey, we already established that Liam was hungry, so jod off.

As the nineteen-year-old sat near the pot of boiling water Scott was going to use to cook the beans, Liam toyed with the white container that held his meds. He took advantage of the opportunity that he was left alone to swallow one of his remaining pills but afterward Liam found himself troubled by the fact that he only had one pill left. That basically meant that he only had four weeks of guaranteed sanity before he went mental again.

_‘Just… what am I supposed to do now?’_

“Alright you’re still here,” Scott said as he walked out of the washroom dressed in a yellow shirt, long sweatpants and with his hair wet. And just like Liam, Scott had also shaved off his scruff—making him look closer to Liam’s age than before. “It was so quiet out here that for a moment there I thought you had ransacked me while I was showering,” he said while giving a guilty smile. “Glad to be wrong by the way.”

And jod how Liam hated him for acting so carefree. _‘I probably should have looted him for all he was worth for being too thrusting with strangers. Just how on Earth was a guy like this still alive? And screw his sweatpants. Why did he get to have the longs ones while I got stuck with knee-length ones?’_ Yeah Liam appreciated the clean clothing but having a little extra protection against the cold of the night never hurt anyone.

Liam then caught Scott staring at the meds and—remembering that the latter was capable of reading the label—Liam immediately pocketed it away to keep it from curious eyes. “Problem?” Liam jeered.

“Hm?” Scott responded, lifting his gaze. “What? No,” Scott denied. “So you do recreational drugs. I’m not judging."

“These are not-” Liam was quick to defend before deciding it was best to just drop it. “You know what? Forget it. Only know that they are **_not_** for you.”

“Wasn’t even thinking about it,” Scott stated and yet Liam somehow still felt like the other was trying to pry an answer out of him. As so Liam decided to hit Scott bellow the belt by turning the interrogation on him.

“So this friend of yours, the banshee. Was she the same friend that gave you the antique lighter?”

And okay, Liam perfectly remembered Scott mentioning that the friend with the lighter was a guy so Liam was wholly aware that they weren’t the same person. And maybe bringing up Scott’s obviously dead friend was a bit too mean-spirited. Especially in light of the fact that Liam wasn’t exactly clear on whether his other friend, the cultist, was alive or not. For all Liam knew Scott could had been sick with worry about whether his banshee friend had met the same fate as the girl from the graveyard.

In reality though, Liam was just looking to make Scott as uncomfortable as he made Liam feel.

Scott only shook his head and gave a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. Forced. “No, different friend,” he replied listlessly. “This one is kinda more of a love/hate relationship.”

 _‘Why is he being forthcoming with me when I’m obviously only trying to hurt him?’_ Liam wondered. More importantly he also wondered why he couldn’t stop himself from digging for more. “How so?”

The twenty-one-year-old sighed before flopping down in front of the pot and pouring the soaked beans in it. For a moment there Liam thought that his host had finally had it with him and was going to shut him out. But then Scott smiled at what must have been a memory before sharing his grin with Liam.

“Well, she kinda saved me from making the worst mistake of my life,” he said fondly. “So I guess I’ll forever feel indebted to her.” Yet even as he said that Liam could sense that there was another half to the story. Scott obviously saw the question written on Liam’s face because Scott sighed again and looked away. “But,” he continued, confirming Liam’s suspicion. “…She’s kind of the reason why I was forced to run away from home. So that’s that.”

Liam lowered his gaze at that last revelation and stared at the ground as a slow realization hit him. Because who would have thought it? Scott. This happy-go-lucky guy. He was a runaway too. Like Liam.

_‘Was that the reason he’s so nice to me? Did he feel that connection the moment he saw me? Was that the reason he looked at me that way this morning?’_

“Look, I know you’re probably dead tired of putting up with me all day long. And the last thing you’d want is to prolong this any longer,” Scott began—startling Liam out of his thoughts. “But I’m still going to have to insist that you at least stay the night. You can leave tomorrow at first sign of light if you want. But at least rest under a roof tonight and I promise you that I won’t bother you again. Sounds reasonable?” he asked, glancing Liam’s way and giving him a hopeful smile.

Yet all Liam could focus on was the fact that Scott’s smile still didn’t reach his eyes.

~x~x~

_When Liam was fifteen he got involved with drug traffickers. Well it was more like he was their prized pet. They supplied his meds and Liam did jobs for them in exchange. As Liam was quick to find out, people outside the Dome that could read were a hard find. So even young he had a certain value on him shoulders._

_But after a job went wrong the rival gang showed up on their turf and gunned down everybody indiscriminately. Liam tried to escape through a nearby forest but a bullet tore through his ankle and he fell down. By all means Liam should had died then. Yet an ear-shattering howl stopped his pursuers on their tracks._

_Next thing Liam knew all he heard were screams around him until nothing. Liam got up and ran as far as he could with a limped leg until he collapsed near an asphalt road. For some reason, before he fainted, Liam swears that he saw a pair of glowing purple lights shining down on him._

_When Liam woke up he was resting against a tree—protected from the rain by the shade it provided. Though that wasn’t the freaky part. Not even close to it._

_You see the fact of the matter was that when Liam woke up his leg was bandaged. Even more unexplainable Liam felt no pain in his ankle almost as if he had never been shot. Heck if it weren’t for the dressings on the wound Liam would have thought that he imagined the whole thing. Though what stunned him the most was that placed right next to him were two bottles of his meds—almost as if someone had gone back to the hideout and got them precisely for him._

~x~x~

It was still dark when sleep wore off Liam’s eyes. He sat up on his makeshift bed—one of the remaining wooden benches in the altar room—and tried to rub that memory out of his eyes. Liam has had many close calls in the five years he’d been outside of the Dome. And he’d been through many tough-spots that at first seemed like the end of the line for him. But somehow he always pulled through. And though he had only seen those purple lights that one time; Liam always felt its presence nearby when he needed it the most. Even now he still felt it.

Looking around he saw Scott’s rumpled sheets but no trace of him. _‘Is he keeping watch again?’_

Gazing down Liam probably shouldn’t have been surprised to find another blanket on top of his ragged one. Yet it still twisted his gut to have a relatively unknown stranger looking out for him in such a way. Especially when that stranger owed him nothing.

Uneasy, Liam got up to look for Scott as not knowing his location was putting Liam more on edge than he’d like to admit. Liam searched every nook and cranny of the church but found no sign of the guy. That was until Liam walked past a glassed window and caught the green glow at the edge of it. Slowly Liam approached it and carefully opened the window.

It wasn’t hard to spot Scott’s hunched figure then. He was no more than 15 meters away from the church and from the look of it this seemed to be pretty routine behavior for him. Hence Liam wasn’t going to intrude. Yet as Liam was about to close the window he got a sudden sense that something was off.

Taking another glance at Scott’s back Liam noticed that his dark-haired host wasn’t paying any attention to his surroundings. And if Scott was really taking vigil then that definitely wasn’t how you went about it. Instead Scott was seated on the gravel with his arms around his bended knees and his head buried between them. On his right hand was the copper lighter that he kept sporadically flicking off and on.

It wasn’t until he flicked it on again that Liam noticed that Scott’s shoulders were trembling. Liam immediately closed the window and made his way back to the makeshift bed. There were still a few hours of sleep to catch before the Sun went up.

~x~x~

When Liam woke up again, it was to the sound of bags being dropped next to him. He instantly sat up and Scott gave him an apologetic half-smile.

“Sorry,” Scott said as he lifted the two duffle bags again to display them. “I kinda took the liberty to fill these out for you. This one's stuffed with five changes of clothes, your own FaShaLa, and an extra blanket,” he said shaking the bag on the right. “And this one is stuffed with the remaining cans of food we snatched from those guys that tried to shoot us. Plus some first aid supplies just in case,” he said shaking the bag on the left.

However Liam’s focus could only be centered on the fact that Scott’s kind brown eyes didn’t betray a man that had spent most of the night crying.

“What about you?” Liam asked not taking his gaze away from Scott’s as the latter lowered the duffle bags to the floor again. “What will you eat if I take all of it?”

Scott just gave a light smile and said not to worry about it. That he still had the snares and was perfectly capable of hunting for his own food. That he had done it for years. He went to give Liam a pat on the shoulder but stopped short of it—closing his hand into a fist instead and withdrawing. “I’m gonna go ahead and make breakfast now. You can stay until then if you want. Whatever it’s fine with me,” he explained before giving the fairer-haired teen one last smile and moving away.

Liam shut his eyes tight then and gritted his teeth. Never had he felt so conflicted in his life before. On one hand this was precisely what he wanted from the very beginning. To stock up on supplies and be on his way as swiftly as he could. But on the other Liam didn’t know how long he had before his mind was no longer his own. And did he really want to spend his last weeks of sanity just trotting around without a purpose?

“They are antipsychotics alright!” Liam yelled probably a little more loudly than he had intended—his voice echoing in the room. He could feel the sting of tears behind his eyes as he did his best to keep them at bay. “I need them or else I’ll start hallucinating,” Liam added more softly this time. And he wanted to claw out of his skin for showing weakness when he felt Scott returning to his side.

“Liam,” Scott started soothingly. The hint of concern in his voice being what drove Liam to open his eyes and locked them to Scott’s own. Scott had hunched down to Liam’s level. “You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to. I’m not pressuring you.”

But Liam wanted to. He wanted to tell someone _so bad_. “I got schizophrenia,” Liam said hastily and couldn’t stop. “The severe kind. And without my pills every two weeks I’ll literally go insane,” he revealed and that wasn’t even the end of it. “I also have a light case of ASPD, the antisocial personality disorder. I get irritable for no reason. I don’t feel bad when I hurt people. I’m bad at planning ahead of time and I’m terrible around groups of people.” _And jod his voice was quivering now_. “I **don’t** do friends. I’m a loner and I do just fine on my own. I don’t need other people prying into my business. I don’t need anyone and I certainly don’t need you!”

Liam’s voice gave out at the end of that sentence and might as well because the stunned expression of Scott’s face was enough to make Liam want to bite his tongue off. _‘I should have never said anything’_. Scott looked down at his hands and Liam just wanted to push him away. But then Scott met Liam’s gaze and Liam faltered.

“…Do you want to be a loner?” Scott asked and Liam... couldn’t. Liam did not expect that question. He didn’t know how to answer such a question. His left hand absentmindedly reached for the white bottle with the single pill, the one he hidden under the blankets, and pulled it out as if hoping to find the answers there. “There aren’t many left are they?” Scott asked instead—shifting his attention.

Liam slowly shook his head. There was only one pill left and he had no idea where to find more.

Scott must have come to the same conclusion because he attempted to smile reassuringly. “How about after breakfast, we head up north? I’m sure there’s a town there. Surely we will find a way to get you a refill.”

And wait, was he offering to stay with Liam?

“You don’t care that I’m a psychopath?”

Scott finally grinned then. One that reached his eyes. And up-close and shaven, Liam noticed that Scott’s jaw wasn’t exactly even—which was the reason why his smile appeared lopsided most of the time. Liam didn’t know why such a silly detail provided comfort to him but it did. “You’re not a psychopath,” Scott said like that was something he wholeheartedly believed. “You’re Liam. And that’s okay.”

Liam didn’t know how to respond to that so he ended up avoiding Scott’s gaze. However Liam was quick to revert it back to Scott when he felt Scott’s strong yet gentle grip on his shoulder.

“Is this okay?” Scott asked and Liam found himself nodding. Scott’s hand on Liam’s shoulder felt so warm and unassuming that Liam didn’t remember why he ever felt threatened by Scott. Coincidentally Scott’s smile stretched at Liam’s consent making the corner of his eyes crinkled. To be honest, eyes like those should never be made to cry. “So what do you say?” Scott asked enthusiastically. “Travel buddies?”

After a moment of hesitation, Liam nodded once more. And when Scott moved to pull away Liam surprised himself by snaking his arms around Scott’s torso and crashing his face into Scott’s clothed chest. Liam really did not know what he was doing right then—and with the way Scott’s body stiffened Liam had obviously caught the former off guard with the sheer abruptness of the action. But then Scott returned the gesture by carefully wrapping his arms around Liam and patting the top of his head. Liam was strangely okay with that. So okay that he immediately deflated against Scott.

“We’ll find your medication,” Scott whispered, not moving away from this strange kind of hug. “Everything will turn out okay, you’ll see.”

And for the first time in forever, Liam finally felt something akin to security. He believed Scott.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh ho ho! It took a while but Liam finally made a connection to Scott. Though I wonder if that connection will hold after the next chapter. Especially when faced with glowing eyes...
> 
> Scott, just what are you? ~~The next chapter will be action packed by the way.~~


	3. Know that I will save you from all of the Unclean

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A lot of shit happens that tests Scott & Liam's newly formed bond. Some of them supernatural.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was supposed to upload this chapter last Saturday but my internet went out. Then come Sunday I reread it and decided I didn't like it because it was too methodical and it didn't have enough cute in it. The result being 3k extra words of filler nonsense to counteract the more sullen parts of the chapter. I'm sorry, I have no control over what I type. Forgive me. 
> 
> Unbeta'd.

Every time Liam heard the distinct sound of a something self-locking behind him his stomach knotted further. Every room, every hall, and every automated door they walked past without stopping made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Liam’s skin crawled and he became hyper aware of the fact that his escorts had formed a perfect perimeter around him and all eight of them were equipped with crossbows. He swallowed to get the dryness out of his mouth but kept his shoulders loose and his head held high. 

Never show lack of confidence when surrounded—that’s a lesson Liam has learned. Confidence was what kept the opposition from making the first move.

They finally arrived to what looked like a big white ballroom and—by Liam’s estimations—the center of the facility. The sight brought back a fleeting memory from Liam’s childhood; when he was five and his mom was marrying his stepdad. Except here instead of flowers decorating the walls there were a bunch of metal spikes running through the head of several desiccated animals of different species. All of them eyeless for some reason. There were also two large rectangular metal tables at either side of the room. Correction, two large tables cluttered with knives and axes of different shapes and who knew what else from end to end. This sure wasn’t the typical pharmacy if anything else.

However Liam’s focus was primarily on the high back chair made of pale ash wood at the other end of the room; and the four people stationed around it. The high chair sat at the top of a three-stepped platform—which added to the strong eerie feeling that had been slowly seeping under Liam’s skin the moment he set foot in the room. The instant the last of Liam’s escorts entered the room, the door behind them locked itself just like every other door had done on the route to here.

Apprehension settled in Liam’s stomach but before he could get a word out a side-door opened and out of it came an elderly guy accompanied by Son—the tall black-haired guy that gave Scott and him the address to here. The idea that Liam was once again dealing with a gang of drug dealers cemented itself further the moment the elder man sat down on the high chair and everyone else in the room straightened their stances. Son, who stood at the left of the old man, stepped forward and introduced the man as Don—their leader.

Liam was suddenly shoved to walk forward. He shot a heated glare at the guy who pushed him but silently approached the platform. Though Liam only made it to the center of the room before Don raised one hand signaling to halt.

“Young Liam, born in 3593, Caucasian, male, height of 1.72 meters, weight of 63.7 kilograms,” Don recited Liam’s stats in a voice more booming than his age denoted. “Is this who stands before me?”

From previous experience with Kingpins, Liam knew that it was in his best interest to answer every question as quickly and concisely as he could—even those to which the answer seemed terribly obvious. “Yes sir, it is him that stands before you,” Liam stated—surprising himself with how calmly his tone carried.

Don smiled then. “Ah, well mannered this one,” he appraised and open his eyes big. And that’s when Liam saw it. Empty eye sockets. Now the eyeless beheaded animals made sense. Their leader was blind. “But schizophrenia,” he tooted in a lamenting tone. “Strikes them younger every time.”

He then signaled for one of the escorts to come closer—one who presented Don with the cooper lighter Liam bargained for the trade. _Scott’s_. Don turned it in his hand once, twice and then tossed it behind him like if it was worth nothing. Liam almost made the mistake of protesting the action but managed to hold his tongue. He tried to reason that Scott was willing to part with it anyways; that he really shouldn’t let it bother him. Except it didn’t work. But then Don made another hand signal and Son threw at Liam a bottle stacked with pills. Liam caught it and turned it in his hands—his eyes immediately searching for a label.

 _‘Sugar pills…’_ These weren’t what Liam had double-crossed Scott for.

Liam felt the sting of water building behind his eyes then. He blinked and reread the label hoping the letters would change but nothing. Everything stayed the same. This was his reality. He walked right smack into the middle of a trap. He should’ve listened to Scott. They still had time. They didn’t need to rush. They could’ve found another solution, somewhere else. And now Liam wasn’t sure if he was ever gonna get the chance to see Scott again.

“You’re reading the label aren’t you?” Don’s cold voice professed. Liam stayed silent. No use denying what the henchmen had been witness to. “Just like all the pretty Dome-born that came before you.”

Gritting his teeth in designated anger, Liam lifted his gaze and leered at Don—not that it did anything to remove the sinister smirk the Kingpin was sending his way. The four guards stationed around Don however all aimed their crossbows at Liam. Gulping, Liam took a step back and heard the sound of crossbows being loaded all around him as well. Whatever their plan with him was, it was clear that Liam wasn’t going to make it out of this one alive. And as Liam tightly gripped the fake pills in his hand—to the point where the bottle shattered and the pills scattered on the floor—only one thought ran through his brain.

_‘Please Scott… please forgive me.’_

**~x~(18 Hours Earlier)~x~**

“Are you jodding kidding?!”

“I thought you wanted breakfast. So I caught it. What’s the problem?”

“What’s the prob- Scott look at it!” Liam exclaimed pointing at the so-called-breakfast over the blanket that Scott was dragging toward their encampment. “ _What’s the problem_ you ask? That’s a jodding bos-taurus like what the heck! How are we even supposed to eat that? And excuse my disbelieving tone but _are you serious?_ ”

Because really. That thing looked like it weighted 500 kilograms minimum! There was no way they were going to finish all of that for breakfast. Heck even with lunch and dinner it wouldn’t be enough. It was too much meat! “Like how did you even manage to trap an animal of that size in the first place?” Liam asked still stupefied by what he was witnessing. 

It’s been 3 days and 3 nights since they left the church together and journeyed north. More than 80 hours since they met. And in that time Liam has learned a few more things about Scott. First and foremost was that Scott was very routine-oriented. He’s an early riser. Like literally every morning he would wake up before sunrise and do twenty minutes of stretching exercises before even considering anything else. Today was actually the first time Liam had joined him while doing so. Then Scott would hunt for breakfast.

So far it had mostly consisted of jackrabbits or swinefishes. Never something large considering they preferred to take advantage of the morning to do most of their walking. After covering a large amount of distance, their late lunches always consisted of canned food—something they could eat while not slowing down. They never talked during their trek. Or maybe Liam should say that he never talked and Scott usually stopped trying after the first half-hour of hearing his own voice. Scott always made them stop before sunset though to set up a small campsite.

Dinner was when they consumed the most food. After the first night Liam took charge of preparing it because he was tired of feeling like the useless one in this venture. Dinner was a mixture of canned food and whatever Scott hunted that day. Because here’s the thing. Scott was _really good_ at hunting. Jod, Scott was really good at everything apparently.

He was an expert tracker. Like whatever it was he set his mind to he would find. And it always seemed like he knew where he was going—which made Liam come to the conclusion that Scott was obviously well traveled. More so than Liam for sure. Yet however good Scott was at what he did, _**this**_ took the cake. Because as Liam stood there next to the small bonfire he’d set up in preparation for whatever Scott brought in for breakfast; there was no jodding way to get Liam to believe that Scott—unarmed—was able to bring down an adult bos-taurus on his own.

Scott gave his travel-buddy a sheepish grin as he continued to drag his hunt the rest of the way to the camp. “Didn’t have to,” Scott informed, twisting and bunching his hands more through the fabric of the blanket as he gave one last heave forward before dropping to his knees next to the fire. “Made it,” he muttered as a low cheer before wiping the sweat off his forehead and running a hand through his hair—combing it back. “The bull was dying already. Apparently it lost a fight to another animal,” Scott stated with an one-arm shrug. “Felt sorry for it so I decided to put it out of its misery.”

“A bull?” Liam questioned while carefully moving closer to the bos-taurus for closer examination.

“Yeah a bull. You know, like the bull’s eye?” Scott defended but when Liam only responded with a raised eyebrow Scott’s face contorted in confusion. “What do you call the center of a target?” he asked. Fortunately, after 3 days in his company, Liam already grew accustomed to the twenty-one-year-old’s peculiar habit of asking completely random questions that had nothing to do with the topic at hand. Scott was a little scattered-brained like that but so far that quirk presented no menace toward Liam so the teen just went along with it for now.

“Gold,” Liam replied referring to the name of the center of the target. He heard Scott mumbling something about how he should’ve remembered that, but Liam’s eyes were already too transfixed on the bos-taurus’ wounds to give Scott’s words any mind.

Just as Scott had alleged, the animal definitely had been on the receiving end of multiple claw swipes. No wonder it didn’t put up a fight when Scott encountered it. Yet something about the claw marks were a little off. Liam couldn’t think of another animal around here beside the ursidae that would attack a bos-taurus. But the claw marks were a little too small and close together for that to be true. In fact, as Liam carefully placed one hand on its hide, he ran his fingers over the marks and found that his fingers spread perfectly apart on them. Strange.

“Salt!” Scott exclaimed startling Liam. Scott got up on his feet and dusted the front of his pants. “Remind me to trade for salt when we encounter civilization. That’ll help preserve the meat.”

“Trade?” Liam questioned before face-palming at his own forgetfulness. He hadn’t meant to sound so naive. It’s just that he has avoided negotiating with other people for close to two years now. _‘Of course we have to trade!’_ Outside the Domes there was no currency. Every exchange was done by trade out here. And that meant that if Liam wanted his meds he had to trade something of equal value for it. But… “Do we even have something worth trading for?” Liam whispered to no one in particular.

Scott heard him though. “That’s where the bu- _taurus_ comes in,” Scott explained stumbling over his words. He started listing things then while pointing at each particular item he mentioned. “The horns are used for both tools and medicine. We are sure to find someone willing to trade what we need for them—and if not we'll find someone else that will trade for something that we can eventually trade for something we need. Same goes for the meat,” Scott stated looking apologetically at Liam. “Sorry buddy but if we want to trade that for something of quality we’ll gonna have to eat only the non tasty parts of it.”

Liam nodded, perfectly okay with sacrificing the taste of his breakfast in order to secure their ability to trade for supplies. Liam’s eyes landed back on the bos-taurus and he couldn’t help the frown on his face. “I guess trading the hide is a no-go then.” The nineteen-year-old lamented.

Scott nodded. “Unfortunately that’s too bloodied. We aren’t going to find a soul willing to trade for that so we might as well cut our losses.”

After silently cursing the animal for not having the decency to die cleanlier, Liam sighed and turned to Scott to see what he was going to do next. Liam caught Scott already staring back and for some reason that didn’t set off any of Liam’s usual alarms. Maybe because no matter how odd Liam found Scott to be, he no longer felt like a total stranger. “What now?” Liam asked.

Scott blinked as if coming back from a daydream before smiling eagerly. “Now we skin it!”

~x~x~

Because of all the work they ended up having a late breakfast. Liam busied himself packaging the slices of taurus meat they could afford to carry with them while Scott tried to figure out a way to remove the horns from the skull. Liam thought it an impossible task without the right equipment but surprisingly Scott somehow managed to do it when Liam wasn’t looking. Guess the bos-taurus wasn’t just unlucky but calcium deficient too.

_‘Hope that detail doesn’t come up in the market.’_

Still… thinking about the unlucky bos-taurus and its early demise at the hands of tougher predators somehow got Liam to thinking about how incredibly lucky he was to still be alive when all odds were stacked against him. Of course that got him thinking about the purple lights again. The ones that made him feel safe. Kinda like he was feeling right now actually—which was crazy because Liam was basically a walking expiration date with no hope for renewal.

 _‘Well that isn’t quite accurate’_ Liam thought to himself as he stared at the back of Scott’s skull. Scott was once again taking the lead traveling north. He was wearing a long-sleeved white shirt and creamed colored cargo pants; and had way more bags to carry than Liam on his shoulders. Yet Scott still walked at a brisk pace. _‘And all this trouble just to get **me** my medication.’_

Liam still had difficulty wrapping his head around that.

He himself was wearing a light green shirt with some kind of weird graphic design on it that would never be considered in fashion inside the Domes and grey knee-length shorts. Liam also had Scott's jacket tied around his midriff and was only carrying the two duffles that Scott had originally prepared for him. “Have you ever heard the story of the Shepherd?” Liam found himself asking after much deliberation.

Scott turned himself around but stayed walking north without paying attention to where he was stepping. It might sound bad but a part of Liam kept hoping that Scott would trip and fall just to see what curse word he would use. However instead of answering, Scott furrowed his eyebrows and pointed a finger to himself as if asking if Liam was talking to him. Liam glowered at his dark-haired companion because who else would he be speaking to? Liam knew he didn’t speak a lot but _come on_. 

_‘Fall. Fall. Fall.’_

To Scott’s credit Liam never met a guy who responded to his glare with a smile before. Scott really was on a league of his own when it came to being inoffensively weird. “Is that a Bible thing?” he asked.

_‘Fall. Fall. F-What?’_

“A bible thing? What the- No! Jeez, I’m talking about the 26th century mythos.” Really. Why would Liam waste time talking about that middle school theater class play production?

“Oh, aah…” Scott’s eyes rode to upper left corner as he thought it over. “Bits and pieces. Why?”

Liam sighed feeling defeated. He should’ve known. “No reason,” he replied staring at the ground. The Shepherd’s tale wasn’t really a known tale among the sub-genera after all. And Scott not knowing it basically confirmed that he wasn’t Dome-born. In other words they weren’t as alike as Liam previously thought they were. ~~As Liam wished they were~~.

“Care to tell me anyways?” Scott piped up interrupting Liam’s thoughts. The fairer-haired brunet however just shook his head and told Scott that it wasn’t that much of an exciting story. That didn’t seem to deter Scott though. “Doesn’t matter. And besides, I like it when you speak,” he declared, lips curving to the right side of his face in what Liam had slowly began to realize was Scott’s typical crooked smile. The one he used when he was in high spirits. “Sure beats walking to hours of silence.”

Looking at the brightness of his expression made Liam wish that he himself could be as easy-going as Scott usually was. However the night at the church three nights ago was still at the forefront of Liam’s mind. Behind that bright smile Scott had his inner demons. That much Liam knew. Liam may not have the sharpest brain on his shoulders but he wasn’t stupid. There was no way that someone as approachable and social as Scott would be friendless. There was no reason for him to be alone. 

In the short time that Liam had been with him Scott has proven that he’s smart, strong, and highly self-sufficient. The kind of person whose charisma had people flocking to him. The kind of person that should have at least had people looking for him the minute he got captured. But he didn’t have any. Liam searched every nook and cranny of the church and there was no evidence that Scott ever had any sort of company there before Liam. The only reason for someone like Scott to be alone was if he chose it himself.

_‘So then why was he here with me? That… made no sense.’_

“Liam?” Scott called with a hand on the teen’s shoulder. Looking down at it Liam realized that Scott must had been trying to get his attention for some time now. Liam felt his face flushing in embarrassment. “Are you okay?” Scott asked with a hint of worry in his eyes.

“Purple lights,” Liam blurted out because it was the first thing that came to his head that wouldn’t reveal that he had been too distracted psychoanalyzing Scott. The darker brunet gave Liam a confused look as he removed his hand from Liam’s shoulder. Liam quickly tried to rectify himself before Scott had a chance to realize that Liam was indeed more mental than Scott gave him credit for. “The Shepherd’s myth,” Liam explained. “It’s the story of the purple lights.”

Scott’s face displayed only open curiosity then and Liam knew he was cleared of suspicion. Tucking his head down since Liam was still pretty unaccustomed to having someone’s attention on him, the nineteen-year-old began to recount the tale for Scott as they peacefully continued their journey north to the nearest populated settlement.

Liam spoke about the fall of Second Asia in the year 2543—where historians said that human technology was at its finest. Liam told Scott of a time where nations fought each other with the latest and deadliest weapons ever to be created to the point that it reshaped the Earth. Mentioned how the planet didn’t always have horridly gigantic craters like the Moon did. Back then the world was full of suffering everywhere. Whole towns were decimated in a blink of an eye. And it was during that time that the tale of the Shepherd first surfaced.

They said that whenever innocents lives were in the brink of destruction, a lone man came and performed impossible feats without the use of technology and saved them. The man was everywhere and nowhere at the same time. They say that he was able to stop houses from collapsing with only his sheer strength and mend wounds without medicine. Reports sighting him came from all over the world. Norte Americana, Sur Americana, Antarctica, Europea, Africana, Oceania, Second Asia and the Calisto Islands. Anywhere and everywhere someone needed his help he was there.

In the end it was a group of rebels who in order to stop the ongoing war that was decimating the planet had found a way to shut down the entire planet’s technology. You see around that time Asia had rebuilt itself after the meteor that destroyed it and the land itself was on a big machine. When the power went out, Second Asia began to sink and all its inhabitants with it. The survivors all reported that it was a lone man that saved them. That if it weren’t for that man their whole race would have become extinct. They say he sank with Second Asia while trying to rescue as many people as he could.

However no one knew his name or could really describe in detail what the man looked like. But because of the fact that whenever he appeared he led people to safety they named him **The Shepherd**. And even though no records exist of his physical appearance, all of the reports had one thing in common. Purple lights. Each and every sighting of the Shepherd pointed out the fact that he was surrounded by a purple glow—that being the main reason his appearance was so difficult to make out.

Nonetheless the tale cautioned that just because the Shepherd was never spotted again it didn’t mean that he disappeared. They say that even to this day, whenever a good person is in desperate need of help, a purple light will appear to guide that person back to safety.

“Here’s a piece of trivia,” Scott voiced once Liam finished recounting the tale. “Did you know that Second Asia was only ever the nation of China and that the rest of Asia renamed themselves to the Calisto Islands after Second Asia sunk and not before it?”

Liam raised his eyebrows at that. “Are you accusing historians of manipulating the order of events?”

Scott only shrugged. “I’m just saying that you shouldn’t believe everything you read. Like this Shepherd business for example.”

“Oh really?” Liam questioned. “And just where did you get this discrediting piece of information from huh?”

“I uh…” started Scott but he visibly became stumped—rubbing the side of his face as he tried to get the rest of the sentence out. “I read it somewhere?” he asked more than stated and Liam deadpanned. Scott let out a sheepish laugh then. “I clearly did not think that one through before speaking,” he stated and for some reason the completely unhurt tone of his admission made Liam smile.

“So you admit to having no way to discredit the Shepherd’s mythos and therefore concede to acknowledge the possibility that he was real even if the records of his sightings might have been slightly exaggerated,” Liam declared with a grin.

Scott chuckled and jokingly put his hands up in surrender. “I concede defeat,” he stated still smiling. “But you know, until now I thought you were more of a skeptic. It’s nice knowing that you aren’t downright opposed to a little wonder.”

“Yeah well,” Liam shrugged in order to hide how embarrassed Scott’s observation made him. “I’m walking without limping aren’t I?” Liam contended without offering to elaborate as he walked past Scott to take lead. The twenty-one-year-old didn’t need to know the story behind Liam’s magically healed ankle. Nor did Scott need to know what Liam thought he saw that night. The reasons behind Liam’s beliefs were his own. “ _Oof_ , what the-”

Liam almost lost his balance as Scott all of the sudden—and without warning—jumped on Liam’s back. The fairer brunet locked his knees in place to keep from tumbling over and dropped his bags as he took hold of the legs that were pincering his sides. _‘What was happening???’_

“Woohoo!” hollered Scott with a hand grasping Liam’s shoulder tightly and fist-pumping with the other. “Kiddie up!” Scott exclaimed gyrating his hips forward to try to get Liam to move. 

And again, “What are you doing?” Liam questioned—too frighten to make a move or take another step.

“Testing you,” replied Scott like it should had been obvious. “You said you weren’t limping right? If that’s true then it shouldn’t be a problem for you to carry a little extra weight so come on. I challenge you to take 11 steps with me on you!” He exclaimed before relaxing his weight and hunching down to whisper incitingly in Liam’s ear. “Or should I get the Shepherd to do it for you?”

 _‘That’s it!’_ Scott was going down! Liam was about to make Scott wish he never badmouthed anything important to Liam ever again. “You’re on!” Liam declared as he moved one foot forward. _‘Grat feces.’_ Scott was heavier than Liam thought.

“Hell yeah!” Scott exclaimed as Liam took another step forward. Scott let go of Liam’s shoulders and flailed his arms in a motion Liam couldn’t quite catch. “I’m the king of the world!” Scott shouted at the top of his lungs and began laughing.

And shit, shit, shit, shit. Why did the sound of his laugh sent tingles down Liam’s spine the way it did?

By Liam’s seventh step Scott had settled down with his jarring movements and loosely folded his arms around Liam’s neck—while resting his chin atop the teenager’s hair. “This is nice, I could get used to this,” Scott said causing Liam to falter on his eighth and ninth step. “Beats walking for sure.”

Heat. For something so stupid as giving another guy a piggyback ride, Liam felt his whole body burning up. Scott wasn’t even properly embracing Liam. There was definitely enough space for him to make more contact but he was evidently being mindful of boundaries and didn’t press for more. Yet Liam’s body was reacting like if it hadn’t had sex in forever. ~~Liam hasn’t. Not the consensual kind at least.~~ Was Liam really so deprived of human contact that his body betrayed him by refusing to take that eleventh step?

“Hey I see it!” Scott suddenly exclaimed as he abruptly climbed off Liam and dashed a couple steps forward before backtracking and picking up their bags. Liam was confused by Scott’s excitement—still reeling on the fact that his body had shut down on him—so when Scott handed Liam his dropped bags again and started shoving the teen forward, Liam still hadn’t placed two and two together.

That was until he saw it as well and felt this swelling in his chest.

A town.

~x~x~

Something wasn’t right about the town. Or maybe Liam should say that something was off about its borders. Scott and Liam stood at the edge of their destination but stopped short of walking in when Scott thought he saw something strange. They waited in silence for about a minute until a ripple in the sunlight made Liam figure out what they were dealing with.

“A Net Field,” Liam proclaimed as he gazed up to see if he could spot how far it spanned. “The whole town’s surrounded by it.”

“Any chance it doesn’t do what I think it does?” asked Scott sounding very uncertain about wanting to hear the answer. Liam could kind of sympathized with Scott’s hesitation about subjecting themselves to a Net Field. Nobody wanted to be under surveillance. But one thing Liam has learned was that scrutiny didn’t really matter outside the Domes.

“We’re probably dealing with the scanner type of the Net Field,” Liam begun—eyes shifting to the right as he considered what that meant. “It’s most likely connected to the web where all data about anything that’s ever been scanned is stored. The field will identify us when we cross it and our basic information will be displayed for everyone to see.” And that’s what made Liam falter. Because beside the information they could acquire from a full body scan—he still wasn’t sure if the sub-genera had yet developed a way to hack into the Domes’ files. Liam was always scared about being found out. That’s why he usually avoided entering big places with this type of Net access. “Basically this is a way for the people in charge to keep track of who comes in and out of the place.”

Feeling Scott deflate next to him pique Liam’s curiosity. Liam knew of his own reasons for distrusting the Net Field, even if he was resolute about crossing it for the sake of his mental health. But why was Scott vacillating if he was a sub-genera himself? He had no reason to hide.

“I can’t go in there,” Scott muttered—gaze focused ahead. But Liam wasn’t okay with what he was hearing and it showed on his face. Scott’s eyes shifted toward Liam’s for half a second before determinately remaining the ground. “I can’t enter any place that has a face recognition software,” Scott explained avoiding further eye contact. “Can’t even touch something with fingerprint recognition even if it’s inactivated. I’m sorry. I’m really am, but I can’t go in there with you.”

“Y-You’re kidding right?” Liam asked letting out a chuckle even though he didn’t find the joke funny. Liam couldn’t walk in there without Scott. Alone Liam would be a jodding target! No! That cannot happen. “Listen Scott, if you are worried about the field pulling out some kind of record on you then you don’t have to worry about it. The only data the scanner could ever hope to retrieve is your name and age. The rest is just stupid stuff they get from a digital scale that scans things like measurements,” Liam tried persuading.

He was sure that sub-genera didn’t care much for things like criminal records or even kept them. But then again Liam didn’t really know much about Scott or why he’s a runaway. Could Scott’s name be on some sort of hit list? That would explain why he chose to be alone before. Or maybe he’s the son of some big head honcho and his last name would give it away. Maybe incite a clan war? Liam didn’t know. He just needed Scott to not bail.

“You said you’d help me,” Liam reproached and that got Scott to finally look at him.

Scott’s eyes showed regret. “I know, believe me. And I promise I’ll help in any other way I can but-” and this was where he bit his lower lip and raised both his hands without looking sure what to do with them. He looked ashamed. “I can’t.”

 _Can’t_. That’s what he said. And Liam didn’t want to listen to that. But before Liam could question Scott about his reasons or maybe even plea to his conscience, the grainy voice of a third party interrupted them.

“Quite the dilemma you two seem to be having.” Both of them turned around fast only to spot an old lady in a giant full-body coat. She spoke again before either could question her presence. “Lucky for you I have exactly the right kind of gear to remedy that for you,” she proclaimed while opening a side of her coat and displaying pockets upon pockets of merchandise. She picked one up that looked like a stylus and presented it to the duo. “This one here is a jamming device. Once you click the button here it will mask your presence from any scanner for the next 4 hours. You won’t get a better deal anywhere else.”

Scott and Liam exchanged looks at that before suspicion got the better hold of the latter. “And what do you want in return?” Liam questioned and saw her eyeing their bags. Liam was about to rebuff her stake on the trade but Scott nudged his travel companion with his elbow and signaled to the boulders at their 3o’clock. Liam saw sprouts of tiny heads hiding behind it. Children. The old lady wanted their bos-taurus meat.

“I can smell the blood of your hunt on you little dears,” she declared. “You should really learn to wash up after hunting sweethearts. Don’t you know that grats are attracted to animal blood?”

Perfect. Just what Liam needed. A lecture from a fading grandma. “Fine,” Liam said while opening one of the bags and grabbing one of the smaller packages from it. “This is all that’s left of it. You can have it in exchange for one of those jammers. Seem fair?”

The grandma just smirked like if she found them amusing. Liam’s nose wrinkle in disgust at her. “One of my children has been following you two for quite some time now. You skinned the whole thing he says. Now boy, do you really expect me to believe that 700 kilograms of bos-taurus fit in such a tiny package?”

Liam gritted his teeth and scowled harshly at her. “We didn’t take the whole thing,” he countered flatly. “Just what we could carry.”

“Then I’ll take half of that,” she announced making Liam’s blood burn. “Either that or man up and step inside the town’s limits. See what happens then.”

 _‘Was she threatening me?’_ Liam was about to pull out his EMD stick to sway the negotiation in their favor when Scott intervened. “How about we give you the entire thing in exchange for two of your jammers and a guarantee that they will last for as long as you say they will?” he bargained—keeping a straight face even as Liam turned around to gape at Scott as if he was a mad man. Scott ignored Liam in favor of securing the trade.

Right before Liam’s eyes Scott was giving away their most precious bargaining chip and Liam was helpless to stop it. The grandma accepted the offer and even demonstrated how to properly use the jammer by pinning it on their right shirtsleeve. But all Liam could zero in on was the fact that now they only had the horns available for trade and he seriously doubted that that would be enough.

“What gives?” Liam immediately ambushed Scott once they were sufficiently far away from that old scammer. He got all up on Scott’s face and pushed him away in indignation. “What was that? Do you realize what you just did?!”

As if to infuriate Liam further, Scott had the audacity to look surprise by Liam’s anger, which just made Liam’s blood boil. “Her kids were starving,” Scott defended, eyes wide but gentle as he tried not to set Liam off further. “I couldn’t just leave them without making sure that they had food in their stomachs. I counted eight of them.”

“So what?” Liam countered. “If they can’t fend for themselves it’s their problem! It’s a grat eat grat world out here. You know that!” Liam accused, outraged by the flimsy explanation behind the other’s actions. “What’s next Scott? Are we going to give our kidneys away too? Is that what you want?”

“No,” he said, dragging the ‘o’. “It’s just… I find it hard to turn a blind eye to other people’s suffering is all,” Scott explained while gesturing for Liam to calm down. “It’s really no big deal. I can fetch us more food if that’s what you’re worried about,” he said trying to appease the infuriated teenager.

“I don’t care about food!” Liam shouted while poking Scott’s chest. “I don’t care about other people either! I just care about getting my meds like you promised we would but how are we supposed to do that when you’re giving away all our supplies to the first sad case you encounter you stupid dimmed horrenda stain!”

“Liam!” Scott raised his voice and Liam immediately cowered away—raising both arms to protect his face. It was a subconscious reaction. One Liam had developed in his early days as a drug lord’s pet. He dropped his arms almost as fast as he had lifted them and tried to play it off as if that hadn’t just happened. But the damage was already done and Liam dropped his gaze because he couldn’t stand the way Scott was looking at him. Brown eyes that reflected too much regret. “I…”

“Don’t say you’re sorry,” Liam mumbled faintly. He already felt weak for the way he had reacted. He didn’t need Scott adding salt to the injury. 

“Here,” Scott said instead after a moment of silence. He grabbed one of Liam’s hands—palm up—and placed something squared-like on it. “Its worth should be enough to cover for your medicine.” And after he said that he removed his hand and on Liam’s palm the teen saw the copper lighter. The one that Scott’s late friend had given him. Scott couldn’t possibly be thinking about parting with it, could he?

“But what about your friend?” Liam found himself asking almost inaudibly. Scott cherished this. He couldn’t be serious.

“He won’t mind,” Scott answered. “In fact he would probably be happy if he knew that I was using his gift to help out a new friend. He would definitely approve.”

Clutching the lighter in his hand Liam looked up at Scott. His expression was sad even though he was trying to smile for Liam’s sake and Liam just felt so ashamed for having jumped Scott like that before. Liam would confess that he didn’t know how to react then. But Scott squeezed Liam’s left shoulder and mentioned that they should probably get going before the shops closed on them. Liam just nodded—still feeling inadequate to say anything—and followed after Scott with their jammers turned on.

Liam never apologized though. Heck he never even said thank you to Scott. Looking back, that’s probably what Liam regretted the most.

~x~x~

Entering the town was exactly what Liam expected it to be. As they crossed the Net Field a holo-screen appeared right next to them displaying both their information. Or in this case, their made-up information. According to the screen Liam’s name was Arnold and he was a 35-year-old chubby diabetic with an amputated leg. Liam almost laughed when he saw Scott’s screen describing him as a 14-year-old named Becky. Liam’s laugh would had no mirth in it so maybe it was better that he didn’t.

So the old lady hadn’t given them jammers as advertised. Instead she only gave them false profiles. Liam wanted to point out her deception to Scott but one look at him made Liam feel guilty again. The nineteen-year-old clenched his grip a little tighter around the lighter instead and waited until their holo-screens disappeared before prompting Scott forward.

Once inside nobody really looked their way until approached. The whole place was a bazaar basically. It seemed everybody had a trade shop open which meant that this wasn’t a residential town—just a place to stack up on supplies and be on your way. This was fine with Liam because it meant that they wouldn’t stand out in the crowd.

The few stares that they _did_ garner only stayed on Liam for a few seconds before being redirected to Scott. And looking at him and his posture Liam realized that Scott walked with so much confidence when among a huge crowd that it was hard associating him with the same humble guy that consistently put other people’s needs before his own. Manly frame, broad shoulders, strong legs, sure hands. Scott was hard not to stare at, simple as that.

 _‘I... yeah. I really need to stop noticing these little things about him,’_ Liam thought diverting his gaze. Noticing small details about people that weren’t enemies wasn’t a practice that Liam categorized as safe. Stuff like that tended to lead to dangerous things like growing attachments—and that was a road Liam wasn’t ready to partake in.

Scott did most of the talking and Liam was surprised that the former actually knew how to hustle. Guess that thing with the old lady was really just him taking pity on them. With only the bos-taurus horns at their disposal and a few cans of beans Scott was able to procure salt, soap, a shot of d-elixir for the both of them to keep their teeth intact for another year, better skinning knives, and—oddly enough—an acoustic guitar.

That last one still boggled Liam’s mind.

However even though they stumbled on many remedy stores, none of them had what they where looking for. And with the Sun starting to come down they didn’t have long before the effects of the jammers wore off. They had to leave soon. Liam was getting more distressed as the hours ticked by.

“It doesn’t have to be in pill form,” Liam pleaded to the owner of the last pharmacy they had time to visit. “I’ll take liquid, patches, injections, I don’t care! Please, you are a jodding drug store you must have _something_!” Liam supplicated as Scott gripped his arm and started to drag them away from the scene Liam was making. “No, let me go! I haven’t finished. I. I.” Liam freed his arm from Scott’s gripped and stormed out. Just needed to be away from them all.

Liam stopped in the middle of the square and shuddered as he let the air back in his lungs. He needed to relax. He still had one pill left. He still had time. He needed to believe that he would get through this.

“Couldn’t help listening on your situation. Quite a stirring commotion if I’m in liberty to say,” said a voice from behind Liam. He twirled around and spotted a tall lanky black haired man as he approached. The guy had dark eyes and his hair was slicked back into a ponytail. He looked to be in his late twenties and he was dressed in a tailored suit that wasn’t meant for traveling. But most distinctive of all he had a holographic tablet in hand that just screamed danger.

“Who are you and what do you want?” Liam questioned while subtly inspecting his surroundings to check if the guy came accompanied. Liam’s right hand was itching to reach for the EMD stick. No one was going to catch him off-guard again.

“Someone who can help you,” the ponytailed guy said while raising an eyebrow at what was displayed on his holo-tab. “Arnold is it?” he inquired while giving Liam an up-and-down glance—no doubt scrutinizing Liam for not matching the description. But the guy didn’t push it further than that and instead delved more on his previous statement. “My name is Son, from Silver Corp.,” he alleged while tilting his head to the west of him. Liam followed the motion and spotted what looked like a large industrial facility that looked to be a 20-minute walk from the town. “For the right prize we are capable of manufacturing any type of drug imaginable to man. That is if you don’t mind that none of our experts ever test it before putting it out on the market that is. But you seemed, oh what’s the word, desperate. I’m sure we could work something out with haste. What do you say?”

Before Liam could answer though, Scott came and stepped in front of him—shielding Liam from view. “I’m sorry but we’ll have to decline. We really need to get moving anyway.”

“Ah yes, of course. Wasn’t my intention to take your precious time away from you, _Becky_ ,” Son replied sounding unperturbed yet entertained by the shift. “Though your boy over there doesn’t seem to quite agree with you.”

“Thank you for your assessment _Sir_ but we don’t do business with people who have their weapons drawn at us,” was Scott’s crisp reply and Liam’s eyes immediately went to search the crowd but spotted no one looking their way.

Son smirked then but he didn’t look as amused as before. “Pardon me, no ill will meant. Just a safety precaution,” he stated and by raising three fingers up in the air Liam saw as two guys equipped with crossbows jumped from the roofs to stand at either side of Son. “This is a trade market after all. You never know who might want to take something without supplying an item of equal value first. You understand.”

“What I understand is that we already have everything that we need. So if you don’t mind we’ll be leaving now. Have a nice day,” Scott said ending the conversation. He took hold of Liam’s right wrist and started to steer them away from the crowd. Liam heard Son shouting after them that they knew where to find him if they ever changed their minds; and that was the end of it.

Liam didn’t put up any resistance against Scott on account that the teen knew that the effects of their jammers would expire at any given moment now. But once they were outside of the town’s limits Liam made his sentiments known.

“He said he could get me my meds,” Liam grumbled aloud—glaring holes at the back of Scott’s head as he continued to pull the younger one by the wrist. “That’s like the sole reason why we’re even here!”

“That may be true but I don’t trust him,” Scott replied as he continued to pull Liam away. “I don’t know how to explain it but he wasn’t telling the whole truth.”

“But what if he _was_?” Liam countered grinding his heels to the ground and yanking his wrist away from Scott’s grip. Scott turned to face Liam and Liam took a step backward. “Scott, I don’t have a lot of time left in me. I don’t have the luxury of traveling to another town and hoping for the best. If there’s even a remote chance to get what I need now I- I have to take it.”

“Hey, hey, it’s okay, calm down,” Scott said placing his hands on Liam’s shoulders and giving him a slight frown. “I get it, okay, I get it. But Liam, we still have time. We _can_ find what we’re looking for somewhere else. From someone we can _trust_. We’ll travel twice as fast if you’re really that worried but Liam, _please_ , have faith,” he implored. “I promise. I won’t let you down. But those guys,” Scott said pointing at the general area behind them. “They’re bad news. You are not gonna get anything out of them. I know it. My instinct tells me so.”

“Your instinct?”

“Yeah, my instinct. And it’s never been wrong before,” Scott stated as he lowered his posture so that they were at eye level. “So please Liam, don’t go back okay? Forget about them. We’ll get your meds, just somewhere else.”

Liam swallowed the protests that he already had ready at the tip of his tongue and took the time to really study Scott’s eyes. Brown. Confident. Resilient. “You promise?”

Scott nodded. “I do.”

“…Okay.”

~~Liam knew how to abide his time.~~

~x~x~

Later that night after some light traveling because of Liam’s unsettled stomach and some bean-free dinner, Scott brought out the acoustic guitar and began rewiring the strings. Liam stared at it from his side of the campfire and couldn’t help wondering why Scott bothered with such a useless instrument. The wood looked water worn and scratched. Heck the whole thing looked like it was one small accident away of completely falling apart. Not to mention that it was just adding unnecessary weight to their travel gear.

“Do you even know how to play?” Liam asked as he kept scrutinizing the thing. There was no way he was lugging that thing around for Scott. And if Scott dared to ask then Liam was gonna make sure to accidentally trip on it. 

“Haven’t touched one in years!” Scott exclaimed enthusiastically as he kept testing it and restringing it again. Liam had to admit that he never actually seen Scott act this excited about something before. ~~Couldn’t look away~~. “But I figured it’s just like riding a byc- ah, a hovercraft.”

“You’ve ridden a hover before?” Liam asked, curiosity piqued. He had yet to see a functional hover outside of the Domes so he was very intrigued on how Scott managed such a feat.

“I uh, once actually. About seven years ago. It didn’t fly though. I actually just used it to cross a contaminated lake. But floating on water kinda feels like hovering. At least I think it would.”

“So you used it as a boat. That’s what you’re saying?” Liam deadpanned and tried not to roll his eyes when Scott grinned at him. Liam needed to stop convincing himself that Scott could be anything other than a sub-genera. And even if he wasn’t it’s not like he would ever admit to it. Liam himself never would.

“There!” Scott announced. “All done.” He began strumming a few notes on the guitar but followed no specific melody. Liam was beginning to wonder if the dark-haired brunet even knew a song. He heard sub-genera hum music before so Liam knew it wasn’t a foreign concept for them. But out here there really wasn’t a place for music. That is, unless you were a Kingpin or something—then it’s okay to flaunt that you have access to things other people don’t. Kinda expected to. “I think this calls for the Campfire Song Song,” Scott stated, bringing Liam out of his reprieve as Scott plopped down next to the fair-haired brunet.

Liam scooted a tad away then proceeded to scrunch his brow at Scott’s words. “Song Song?”

“What? You never heard of it?” questioned Scott with grin as he began strumming some new notes that actually had rhythm to them. So he could really play after all. Who knew? “That’s like the greatest song to play around a campfire. It was composed by a musical mastermind, the great SpongeBob Squarepants.”

“Okay now you’re just pulling my leg,” Liam diminished. “There’s no way that Spongepants is a real name.”

“Pulling my leg,” Scott repeated for some odd reason. “Glad to know that expression is still safe to use.”

Yeah Scott’s silliness still earned a raised eyebrow from Liam but he already come to expect it. Was Scott actually worried that just because Liam scratched his leg that one time that all of the sudden any joke or expression relating to that were automatically banned? Did Liam really give that kind of impression? That is, Liam guessed that was good if he did because that meant that people found him intimidating but with Scott… Whatever. Intimidating is good.

“Let’s gather around the campfire and sing our campfire song,” Scott began to sing without any more preambles and so far Liam wasn’t too inspired by the redundant lyrics. “Our C-A-M-P-F-I-R-E-S-O-N-G song.” _Spelling?_ Was this a kid song? “And if you don’t think that we can sing it faster then you’re wrong. But it’ll help if you just sing along.”

“Not gonna happen,” Liam denied with a shake of his head but had to lean backward when Scott all of the sudden turned toward him with a mischievous sparkle in his eyes. He was positively beaming.

“Bom Bom Bom…”

“Scott?” Liam questioned uncertainly and then Scott began to really speed through the song.

“C-A-M-P-F-I-R-E-S-O-N-G song. C-A-M-P-F-I-R-E-S-O-N-G song. And if you don’t think that we can sing it faster then you’re wrong. But it’ll help if you just sing alooooong. C-A-M-P-F-I-R-E-S-O-N-G song. Liam!” he called and Liam panicked.

“I- eh-”

“Good!” Scott exclaimed almost as if Liam’s stumbling was part of the song and then stood up to sing it louder. “It’ll heeeeeeeeeeelp. It will heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelp. If you just sing aloooooooooong!”

And after that he proceeded to aggressively strum the guitar some more before unceremoniously plopping down next to Liam again. They stared at each other in complete silence for about half a minute until Liam simply could not hold it in any longer.

“What was that?” the teen asked a little more than surprised with the laugh that escaped with his words. Scott smiled so big that the skin around his eyes crinkled a bit and Liam’s heart did that weird thing where it skipped a beat.

“Fun,” Scott stated, leaning conspicuously closer as if to whisper a secret. “And that was just track 1 on my playlist.”

~x~x~

They stayed up for hours as Scott continued to play a repertoire of what had to be the silliest songs ever created by men. He tried to get Liam to join a couple of times but most songs Liam had never heard ever in his life. Scott would always accompany each song with a piece of trivia that Liam was sure the former was making up on the spot. Like when Scott sang _It’s A Small World_ , one of the few tunes that Liam knew from childhood. The song is sung in four different languages; but Scott sung the verses in like twice as many.

“There’s eight languages?” Liam asked in perfect wonder. “I always thought it was just English, Spanish, Nigerian and French. What are the other four?”

“Japanese, Indonesian, Korean and German,” answered Scott looking completely mellowed as he hugged the guitar to him and rested the side of his face against its fretboard. And wow. Liam barely remembered having heard about German before but those were quite a lot. No one could possibly learn all of them. Scott must have noticed the amazement on the teenager’s face because Scott continued to elaborate without prompting. “Those are just the languages that are still alive to this day, you know. I once read that a millennium ago people spoke over a hundred different languages if you can believe that. Mandarin, from Second Asia, was the biggest.”

“Back when the world was inhabited by 9 billion people, right?” Liam questioned cynically, making air quotes. Liam had to admit that he was going to miss having someone around who understood the meaning behind the hand gesture. Scott shook his head amiably and flopped down to lay on his back as he stared up the night’s sky.

“I’m glad you’re in a good mood by the way,” Scott voiced after a while, a small lopsided smile on his face. Liam hummed a questioning response while trying to pretend that he hadn’t already been giving Scott all of his attention. “For a minute there I feared that you were still angry at me for pulling you away from that town. Thought you wouldn’t talk to me for the rest of the day,” he confessed.

“Is that why you brought out the guitar?”

“Music is the great equalizer, haven’t you heard?” Scott alleged chirpily turning his head toward Liam. Said company shifted his gaze away and stared at the dwindling fire. Liam wasn’t angry with Scott. Not really. It wasn’t Scott’s fault that his outlook of the future was better than Liam’s.—after all Scott didn’t have to live with a disease. That was Liam’s own problem. Not Scott’s.

Today event’s simply reminded Liam of that.

“You should sleep,” Liam said, focusing on the twenty-one-year-old’s problems instead. “You haven’t slept a full night the entire time that we’ve been traveling together. I know because I always wake two to three times a night. You’re always too distracted to notice, but I’ve observed you a couple times and you almost never rest.”

Scott sat up then and Liam had a hard time trying not to smirk. It’s the first time Liam has seen Scott look trapped—and a small part of Liam rejoiced in the fact that he was capable of rattling the dark-haired brunet just as much as he constantly rattled Liam. But Liam wasn’t finished.

“At first I thought it was because you were keeping watch. But that isn’t the case is it?” Liam questioned, reaching in his pocket for the lighter and flicking the green flame on when he pulled it out—the fire drawing both of their attention. “It’s more than that. Something is keeping you awake. Either that or you’re incapable of sleep.”

“I can sleep,” Scott was quick to interject and it was only then that Liam allowed the smirk to show on his face. _‘Got him’_.

“Then prove it,” Liam countered—flicking off the lighter and locking eyes with Scott. “I’ll take first watch tonight while you rest. And if you’re unable to fall to sleep then you’ll be contractually obligated to tell me the story behind this lighter while carrying my duffle bags all day tomorrow.” And Liam grinned, sure of his plan. But then Scott had to poke holes all over it.

“I don’t mind carrying your luggage,” he said, eyebrows furrowing in worry. “Are they too much weight? Are your shoulders okay?”

 _‘You had to be kidding me.’_ “No they are not too much weight and my shoulders are fine. I just want you to sleep. Going day in and day out without rest can’t be good for you,” Liam stressed, frowning at Scott’s look of relief. _‘Why was he alone again? Did Scott really have no one to look out for him?’_

“Lack of sleep isn’t going to kill me,” Scott stated, relaxed again. 

And yeah, _now_ he was making Liam angry. “Lack of sleep can kill you. It’s a proven fact.”

Scott only shrugged. “I consider myself above science.” And that was it! Liam couldn’t anymore. It was time for him to lay down the law!

“Either you go to sleep right now or I’ll shock you with the EMD stick until you pass out from agony and _then_ we’ll see how above science you are!” Liam threatened meaning every word. Scott studied Liam’s expression before giving a firm nod.

“You’re really serious about that aren’t you?” Scott questioned but Liam didn’t have to nod in the affirmative. The stern look on Liam’s face clearly spoke volumes for him. The nineteen-year-old was startled however by Scott’s next choice of words. “Didn’t know you cared.”

 _‘Did I care?’_ Liam didn’t think he did. Nevertheless Liam didn’t let the answer show on his face. The only thing that mattered was that Scott finally stopped putting up a fight and stood to kick dirt at the campfire—extinguishing it.

“I’ll sleep,” Scott said, grabbing a blanket from one of his bags. “Any chance you’ll sing me a lullaby to help me along the way?” he joked. The thought of that alone made Liam feel constipated. He didn’t have a good singing voice and so he really hoped Scott wasn’t going to make him sing one. “Guess not,” Scott laughed. “Some other time then.”

Liam chose not to speak.

~x~x~

Leaving Scott behind had actually been easier than Liam thought it would be. The fair-haired brunet waited around an hour after Scott dozed off to reorganize their bags. Liam divided the contents of their packs equally between the both of them but took the soap for himself—stuffing it in his back pocket. Liam didn’t plan on entering any other town any time soon so he didn’t know when he would have the chance of encountering soap again. Scott would understand, Liam was sure of it. Because Scott…

Liam told himself that he wasn’t trying to memorize every single contour of Scott’s face down to the last detail when Liam had crouched next to his short-time travel companion in order to confirm whether Scott was really asleep or not. ~~Liam counted a total of six moles on Scott’s face, including the one on his left eyelid.~~ Briefly Liam wondered how Scott would feel come morning when he realizes that the teen was gone. But Liam shook his head to get rid of those thoughts. He had never cared about other people’s feelings so why should he start now?

True, Scott had been a breath of fresh air. He really was. But in the end he was just another person. Someone who had no ties to Liam. The teen could not expect Scott to fight battles that weren’t his own because Scott wasn’t Liam. And in this world—if there ever was one universal truth—it was that you have to look after yourself. Liam could only depend on himself alone if he wanted to survive. And that meant cutting away the distractions.

“I hope that one day you’ll find friends that want to stick around,” Liam whispered as he got up upon his feet. Scott deserved that much at least. He clearly wasn’t meant for a life of solitude like Liam was. “Or at least someone who won’t mind fantasizing about you.”

Letting his eyes roam Scott’s form one last time, Liam turned about-face and headed back to the town—or more specifically—toward Sliver Corp. 

_‘Goodbye Scott. Forget about me alright?’_

**~x~(Present Time)~x~**

Scott’s instinct had been right all along. Liam never should have trusted these men. It was a horrenda-injudicious mistake for Liam to make and now he was gonna have to pay for it.

“W-What do you plan to do with me?” Liam questioned—inwardly cursing his voice for breaking at the beginning. If nothing left Liam still wanted to stand proud until the very end. His tone must have amused Don because the sinister looking smile was back on his face.

“Normally I take my time trying to figure out from which of the five Domes you originated from. It’s always interesting to hear what’s the latest news from inside is,” Don established much to the dissatisfied moans and groans from his subordinates. Don seemed to revel in it if such a thing was possible. “But my boys have gone for so long without a good hunt that I wouldn’t think of depriving them their fun.”

 _‘Hunt? Don’t tell me- Are they cannibals?’_ Liam’s legs almost gave up on him with the way they were starting to shake. Vivid images of these hunters not killing him on the spot and instead mincing his body parts little by little while keeping him alive started to perturb Liam’s mind. _‘What exactly did I get myself into?’_ Liam’s hand reflexively reached for his EMD stick except it wasn’t on his jacket. Liam had relinquished it along with the rest of his gear the moment he had stepped into this facility. _‘Jod what on Earth was I jodding thinking?_

All of the sudden the doors behind unlocked again and in came two other subordinates wrestling with a third in their arms.

_‘It can’t be’._

“Sir!” one of the guards called after punching their captive in the face to subdue his resistance. “We found this one lurking outside. We identified him as the companion of our guest Sir. Thought we show him some hospitality and invited him in Sir.”

 _‘Scott’_ Liam mumbled to himself not believing his eyes. As if Scott heard him, the twenty-one-year-old lifted his head and his eyes pierced Liam. _‘What’s he doing here?’_ Liam just didn’t get it. Liam had left Scott behind without so much as a goodbye. Liam tricked Scott into falling asleep first, stole his gear and then lost his prized lighter. Liam was a no-good liar and a thief. Why would Scott risk coming after someone like that?

They jostled Scott further to keep him from doing anything and waited for their leader to speak.

“Great timing indeed!” exclaimed Don as he clapped his hands together. “I was just about to explained the rules of the game to our friend here. Come! Bring the new one closer. Wouldn’t want him to miss out on the instructions now would we?”

Just as instructed Scott was manhandled until they shoved him to the floor—landing right next to Liam. Scott calmly stood up beside the fair-haired brunet but spared no glance Liam’s way. ~~Maybe Liam was wrong and Scott didn’t come after him. Maybe Scott just wanted his lighter back.~~ Scott squared his shoulders proudly and focused his glare only to those near the high chair.

Don began to relay the rules of the hunt then. He remarked on how both Scott and Liam should already be aware of how the layout of this facility wasn’t your everyday typical structure. As he said that, Liam began to hear heavy mechanical gears revolving all around them. Don then explained how this place was actually built for the purpose of military training; and how the entire edifice turned into a maze with a single push of the button. That was what Liam was hearing. As they were in this ballroom the entire place was rearranging itself into a labyrinth.

“The rules of the hunt are quite simple,” Don stated. “The both of you will be afforded a 30 seconds head start before my boys—all equipped with their crossbows—begin to give chase to you. Their goal is to kill you of course. Whoever lands the killing blow will be awarded their choice of body part to eat after you’re good and roasted. Your goal however is to try to escape the maze with your lives intact. You manage to find your way out and we won’t follow. Sounds fair?”

“So basically you want to play laser tag with us but with actual weapons and an unfair advantage,” replied Scott sounding unamused.

“Laser tag?” questioned Don narrowing his empty eye sockets. “From what part of the country did you two say you hail from?”

Son immediately opened up his holo-tab again. “The Dome-born is definitely American. The other one is… this can’t be right,” he mumbled as he leant forward to whisper in Don’s ear. Liam was still too scared shitless to wonder what Son could have possibly found in Scott’s file that required such secrecy.

Booming laughter. That was what Don responded with. “Child I don’t know on whose bad side you’re on but it’s obviously someone powerful and pissed off enough to employ his resources on tampering with your records this way,” Don expressed sounding completely amused. “With a file like this it’s almost guaranteed that you’d be stopped at every border for questioning.”

And then his smirk turned plotting. “Change of rules boys. The druggie is still fair game but Mr. 1995 here is to be kept alive until we figure out who wants him and what prize they are willing to offer for his head.” At the groans of everybody Don quieted them down with a hand. “Now now boys, you know I would never hinder your fun. That’s why whoever brings me his eyeballs intact for dinner will get first dibs on his ass tonight. Aren’t I a generous master?” he touted and was rewarded with the fervent cheer of his subordinates.

With a snap of his fingers the guards stepped away from the automated doors and moved to join the rest of their crew at what appeared to be a starting line. “You have 30 seconds,” Don announced with a malevolent grin. “Don’t waste them.” And before Liam could fully grasp that this was actually happening, a hand grabbed his own and started to pull him away.

“Run!”

~x~x~

They ran. As fast as they could they ran. But it was no use. The place was built like a jodding labyrinth meant to trap them in here just so these cannibals could play at hunters with Scott and Liam as their prey. Every time they thought they were getting somewhere the rooms shifted again and completely disoriented them. It was futile. They were never going to get out. And all because of Liam.

“Scott I-”

“Not now,” Scott cut Liam off. “We’ll talk after we escape.” And just as Scott said that they ran straight into one of their pursuers who shot at Scott from point blank. Scott let go of Liam’s hand to guard himself and let out a pained grunt when a bolt lodged itself in his palm. Yet miraculously Scott was able to close his fist around it with his other hand and stopped it from doing further damage.

Liam in turn saw red as he tackled the man to the ground—pounding his face in thrice before Scott was pulling Liam back to his feet by the jacket. They continued to flee. Scott cradled his wounded hand to his chest but otherwise kept running at a breakneck pace. The adrenaline running through Liam’s veins was probably the only thing helping him keep up with his dark-haired companion.

They made a sharp turn to the corridor on the right where Scott tossed his jacket and immediately made another turn to the left hoping that the false trail would at least buy them a couple more minutes to escape. Unfortunately they stumbled on a dead-end.

“Shit! We gotta head back!” cursed Scott before shoving Liam to hide behind a column as footsteps ran past them.

“Are they gone?” Liam whispered but Scott shook his head warning that not yet. Liam bit his lower lip in anxiety as he could feel nothing but the rapid beat of his own palpitating heart. Liam felt it in his throat. “I messed up,” Liam whispered against Scott’s neck.

“Hey,” Scott whispered back, pulling away from Liam and holding the teen’s chin up with his good hand. “You did what you thought you needed to do. I’m neither mad nor disappointed. But we can’t stop okay. Not here. We gotta keeping running.” Scott said and Liam nodded not trusting himself to say anything else.

Scott had come here for Liam. That proved it. There was no denying that. Not even Liam’s mom had come after Liam when he ran away. ~~A fact Liam knows well because he waited for his mom at his Dome’s border for three days after escaping before hunger forced him to move on.~~ And with their life currently on the line Liam just didn’t know how to process that. “All right now’s our chance,” Scott stated. “Go!”

So they ran. And not 5 seconds after they did so a chorus of war cries exploded behind them. They were doomed. A flying bolt scratched Liam’s cheek and another lodged itself to the wall in front of them. That only confirmed that Scott and Liam were within striking distance. Liam kept hoping for the rooms to spin again but they didn’t. It seemed the odds were really against them.

All of the sudden Liam was pushed away by Scott, which had Liam stumbling on the side as the teen tried to regain his footing. A pained yelp instantly brought Liam’s attention to Scott’s shoulder. He had been hit! And it definitely hit the bone! But the worst part was that the hit was obviously meant for Liam and jod he didn’t want Scott to get hurt at his expense. _Liam didn’t want Scott to hurt ever_ and that was definitely a new emotion for him.

As another bolt flew past them Liam pulled Scott by the wrist of his uninjured arm toward another corridor. At the end of this one there was a metal door, _‘An exit!’_ But as Liam tried to pry it open nothing budged and **grat feces** it was locked! Another dead end.

They quickly turned themselves around but it was too late. Their pursuers blocked the exit. They were trapped and ambushed.

It was like time had slowed down the moment the hunters lined themselves up as a unit and aimed their weapons at the trapped pair. One of the cannibals lifted up a cardkey and taunted the duo with it—informing them of the hidden rule that to get out they had to pry the key from the hunters first.

And that was it wasn’t it? The end of the road.

If Liam was being honest himself, he’d say that he was actually kinda surprised that he lasted this long. When Liam first ran away from the Dome he didn’t believe he would make it past his first winter. But here Liam was, practically a young man and about to stare at death in the eye. The outcome wasn’t actually any better. But at least Liam got to know what it was like to feel safe and cared for in someone else’s company—even if it was just for a little while. That alone made bearable all the times where someone else’s touch did the exact opposite.

Though it’s a shame that in the end Liam brought Scott down with him. Scott didn’t deserve it. _‘I just- jod… Scott, I’m sorry’_.

Liam closed his eyes the moment the hunter’s acting leader gave the signal to fire, resigned to his fate. That was until Liam heard another grunt and opened his eyes to see Scott standing in front of him with forearms securely planted at either side of Liam’s head. The teen’s face froze in horror a nanosecond before the first bolt hit—when Liam realized that Scott planned to shield the younger of the two with his body.

“Scott no!” Liam screamed as Scott’s body stumbled forward with the force of the projectiles shot their way. It was a freaking barrage and yet Scott stood steadfast with gritted teeth in front of Liam taking blow after blow. Not even when Liam frantically tried to push Scott out of harm’s way did he budge. Liam felt like he was going lose his mind just from this. One bolt ran through Scott’s wounded hand and he screamed _and jod if his pain didn’t echoed inside of Liam_. Liam cried Scott’s name and continued trying to push him away more vehemently but it was all for naught.

When one pierced through the middle of Scott’s neck Liam’s heart gave out. It was like Liam’s body forgot everything about moving or breathing. He was a statue. Frozen by horror.

That’s when the barrage came to an abrupt stop.

“S-S-Scott?” Liam muttered shakily, bringing a trembling hand to cup the side Scott’s face. When Scott didn’t respond Liam did the same with the other hand and slowly lifted Scott’s head. And that’s when it happened.

Even with the tears blurring Liam’s vision and cascading down his cheeks, he saw Scott’s eyes glow.

 _Purple_.

The enemy was no doubt assessing the damage from a distance. A damage that by all means should had killed any normal human. They were probably wondering if any of the shots they landed on Scott’s body tore through him and struck Liam as well. The way all movement had left Liam might help to suggest that.

But the fact was that Liam just _couldn’t_ move. Not with the way Scott’s purple glowing eyes locked onto his.

“Duck. Down,” Scott gargled, blood dripping down his lips and past his punctured throat. His brow was creasing low and his teeth were elongating right before Liam’s eyes. “Now!” Scott roared in Liam’s face when the latter didn’t react and just like that Liam’s legs gave out.

Liam threw himself to the ground with closed fists pressed at either side of his head and knees tucked up all the way to his chest. _Liam turned into a jodding fetus!_ And at that moment Scott turned away from Liam and leapt at the hunters who were desperately trying to reload their weapons.

_‘Jod. Jod, jod, jod, jodding FUCK!’_

Liam couldn’t look away. From his corner on the floor he watched as Scott—no, the monster that used to be Scott—slashed, clawed and tore through his foes like they were nothing. He got a few more bolts buried into him for his efforts but that only seemed to trigger a greater change in his appearance. The monster got even more beastly and its growls chilled Liam to the core. And just like that it was over. Only a heavy breathing monster covered entirely with fur, claws, fangs and glowing purple eyes was left standing.

The monster turned to look at Liam and Liam practically slammed himself to the wall in fright—trying to get as far from it as possible. “St-Stay away!” Liam shouted when it took a step toward him.

In all sincerity Liam didn’t know why he was so surprised when the monster listened. It stopped its advance and instead fell down on one knee. It pulled out the bolt that was wedged in his neck and then it fell on its side. The monster’s glowing eyes stayed firmly locked on Liam though—even as its fur started receding making it look more human. “You’re safe,” it whispered before its eyes lost their glow while in mid transformation.

…

…

…

… _‘was it still alive?’_

The silence in the corridor was deafening. Liam must have stayed glued to the wall for 15 long minutes before he was even able to brave a twitch of a finger. Getting air back into his lungs was such a hard endeavor that Liam started to wonder if he was ever gonna be able to breathe right again. But breathed he did.

Little by little Liam detached himself from the wall behind him and stood on his own two feet. Hesitantly he wobbled toward the massacre in front of him. There were no exits available to him unless he collected the keycard from the corpses before him. Trouble was that Liam didn’t remember which one had it. Yet if he wanted to get out of there and maybe throw-up somewhere else, he first needed to approach the slaughter.

Liam stopped three steps away from the pool of blood and—against his better judgment—he let his eyes roam through the mangled corpses until willing them to settle on the beast collapsed at his feet. No, not a beast. Scott. That’s, that’s Scott. Scott with the retro slang. Scott with the lopsided smile. Scott with the strong yet comforting touch.

No, Liam needed to stay focused. He shifted his gaze away from Scott and walked forward—the soles of his shoes acquiring a red print to them. Liam blocked everything out as he pilfered through all their pockets until he found the cardkey. Never in his life had Liam been so glad that his sense of smell was worth shit. It certainly helped when trying to detach himself from the situation. He also took one of the crossbows and all the unused ammunition he could afford to carry. Liam never used one before but it seemed preferable to trotting ahead unarmed.

Just as Liam stood back up and started to head toward the metal door, the bolts lodged to the wall caught his attention. The ones Scott shielded Liam from…

The fair-haired brunet was having a jodding hard time matching the image of Scott the pacifist with the image of the blood soaked creature behind him. Liam knew that he was still in a state shock yet he knew what he saw. Even if this was just an illusion that manifested because of Liam’s deceiving mind, one thing remained true.

_‘He protected me.’_

So backtracking and crouching down, Liam placed two of his shaking fingers on Scott’s neck— _‘A pulse!’_ —and was left with having to make a decision between two life-altering choices.

One option was to run away, never look back and pretend this whole mess was all a dream. Liam has done that before and could no doubt do it again. The other option was to stay with Scott in hopes that he would wake up. Of course the latter choice implied that Liam was either going out of his mind or that the things that used to live only inside his head were now all too real.

Yet…

_‘The way he looked at me. Why was it so important to him that I made it out alive?’_

_‘…What haven’t you told me?’_

~x~x~

Everything from then on was a blur. Liam remembers carrying Scott’s body—his face hidden with Liam’s jacket—all the way to town where a gang of kids intercepted them at the border—all carrying some kind of makeshift weapon. Words were exchanged before the kids scattered like the wind—one making a passing comment about a pond a four-hour walk from there where no one would come looking. Liam belatedly realized that those were the kids that Scott had practically gifted the bos-taurus to.

Somewhere along the way Scott had completely reverted to human form again but that didn’t appeased Liam’s mind any. Though it did make it a little easier to cope with the madness. However Liam still felt like he was just barely fending off a nervous breakdown. Liam arrived at the pond just after sunrise and then came the difficult task of having _no jodding clue_ of how to tend to Scott.

The teen shredded his own shirt into several strips of cloth before he started the grueling tasked of removing each and every bolt lodged into Scott’s body. Liam may have vomited once or twice as he did so. He kinda blanked the whole thing out. Yet it wasn’t because of the wounds or even the excess of blood—though the one Liam removed from the back of Scott’s cranium did make Liam quite a bit queasier. What if Scott had brain damage?

No, the wounds themselves did not caused Liam to empty his stomach. It was everything that happened afterward. Scott’s body—and Liam don’t know how else to explain it—but it somehow—and jod Liam can’t believe he’s saying this—but Scott’s body somehow began to stitch itself right before Liam’s eyes. And believe him, Liam counted and recounted how many days had passed since the last time he took his pill. This _was_ madness but Liam _wasn’t_ hallucinating. At least he didn’t think he was.

It wasn’t until nightfall that Scott began showing the first signs of life. And by that time Liam was hungry, nauseous, paranoid, frazzled, stressed and way beyond the point of caring if he came off as a lunatic or not. Liam grabbed the crossbow and charged it. He didn’t have to wait long for Scott to open his eyes. Scott sat up abruptly when he did and a part of Liam was relieved that Scott appeared to have all his cognitive capabilities still intact. However that didn’t stop Liam from aiming at Scott’s chest the moment his brown eyes landed on Liam’s blue ones.

“Don’t speak!” Liam warned—steadying his grip on the crossbow and making sure that Scott took in the situation before continuing. “What happens next will be determined by how you answer my next question. I want nothing but the truth from you and it better be convincing because the moment I suspect you’re being dishonest _this_ is gonna be embedded in your heart. You understand me?” Liam barked.

Scott silently stared at the weapon before locking eyes with Liam and nodding. The armed teen licked his dry lips to wet them and tried not to think about how those very brown eyes had glowed purple just hours beforehand.

“Who, no- _What are you_ , Scott?” Liam questioned. And if Liam’s eyes started to water it may or not have to do with the fact that behind his bravado Liam really did not want to pull the trigger. But at this point Liam didn’t see any other outcome. People who hid secrets didn’t leave other people alive who knew them. He was sure that Scott would try to attack at any moment now. Maybe the smart thing to have done would have been to finish the job while Scott was still unconscious but… but… his eyes… _the purple lights_ … Liam knew it was wrong but he still felt safe just staring at them.

The two started each other down for a couple more minutes in complete silence before Scott’s body sagged forward as he sighed in defeat.

“You’re not going to believe me,” Scott stated and in turn Liam gritted his teeth.

“Try me.”

Scott stared at Liam for a while longer before bowing his head down. Liam was beginning to think that Scott wasn’t going to answer until-

“The Painted Warrior, the Son of Grendel, the Hounded Bloke,” Scott rattled off these random storybook titles before lifting his gaze a little to judge Liam’s reaction. “The Shepherd.” To Liam’s credit he didn’t so much as flinch at the namedrop. Seeing the teen’s nonchalant reaction made Scott straightened up his posture. “Throughout my life those who have found out about me have called me many names. But those seem to be the most popular ones.”

Liam’s hands started to shake then—his grip on the crossbow not as steady as before. And for some reason that just made Scott’s eyes look even sadder. For a moment there the idea that he might be just as scared as the teenager crossed Liam’s mind but he quickly trashed it. Liam wasn’t the one with the supernatural regeneration. Scott was.

“A bolt to my heart won’t kill me. Believe me, many have tried and failed,” Scott informed, giving Liam’s weapon of choice a pitying glance. “At this point I think it’s safe to say that nothing can,” He stated locking eyes with Liam again. “My name is Scott McCall. I was born in the year 1995 and I have roamed the Earth a hundred times over since. But to answer your question truthfully I’m really just one thing,” he said despondently. His eyes glowed then—making Liam’s heart stop again. “A werewolf.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CLIFFHANGER!!!
> 
> Or is it? I don't really know if it counts as one to be honest. But anyways, yes, there you go! The revelation about Scott that you all saw coming. He's a werewolf. And just incase some of you didn't catch, he IS the same Scott McCall from canon verse. Meaning that everything that has happened on the show so far has happened here as well. It's the same universe.
> 
> However how Scott went from there to here is still a mystery. Likewise the reason why he is still alive and how Liam ties into it. Believe me there are still a lot of secrets revolving the characters that need to be explored before we get the full picture. I subtly hinted at all of them already so they won't be ass pulls--but unless you are me and already know the whole story I'm not sure you'd be able to catch any of them yet :P 
> 
> Later!


	4. The light on the horizon shined brighter Yesterday

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Liam questions Scott further and becomes surprised to learn some things about himself as well. Pretty informative.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sooooooo sorry for my lateness in updating this. It's just crap happens you know. Won't delay you further.
> 
> Unbeta'd.

Scott had been right in his earlier statement. Liam didn’t believe a word of it.

 **The Painted Warrior**. A tragic story about a man who was left with an open wound after setting free the woman he loved. **The Son of Grendel**. A story about an abomination that lived imprisoned on an island until it escaped to prey on women and children. His terror was put to an end by five brave men who fought, captured, beheaded and burned the malevolent creature to death. **The Hounded Bloke**. Liam wasn’t too familiar with that one but he knew it had to do with a man with the face of an animal that roamed the earth looking for his other half but never found it. **The Shepherd**. A story about a traveling man who guided the innocent to safety during the Technology War.

None of those tales were in any way related to one another. They depicted different characters, different plots, different themes and lessons. However all of these stories had one bizarre thing in common. The titled character died.

There’s just no way all four of those stories were about the same person. And yet…

Liam couldn’t help it. His whole body was shaking. No matter how improbable what Scott revealed was, the fact of the matter was that not even 24 hours after being peppered to death by high-powered crossbows here was Scott—sitting up shirtless and barefooted in nothing but his tattered pants and the bloodied wound dressings made out of Liam’s shirt—looking perfectly healthy and _alive_ with his mental faculties intact and not one visible scratch on his person.

Impossible, that’s what it was. Though that didn’t stop Scott’s purple eyes from trailing back down to the weapon Liam miraculously still held pointed at the dark-haired brunet.

“What’s- What’s a werewolf?” Liam asked quickly, trying to stop Scott from focusing on the crossbow. Liam wasn’t an expert on long-ranged weapons but he figured that a crucial part of shooting his target down entailed not having said target pay attention to when Liam pulled the trigger. Unfortunately the sky was rapidly darkening and Liam had no way of producing artificial light. Thus the glow behind Scott’s eyes became more and more translucent. And let Liam assure you that being alone in the dark with a pair of eerie glowing eyes staring directly at you was more than a little unnerving.

Scott opened his mouth to speak and Liam immediately jolted up to his feet—crossbow still pointed at Scott’s chest. Couldn’t help the reaction. Scott’s elongated canines startled Liam. Scott’s expression was that of confusion before giving Liam what was apparently supposed to be an apologetic smile as Scott’s eyes stopped glowing and turned back to brown. When Scott opened his mouth to speak this time around his teeth were no longer as sharp.

“A werewolf is basically a human that can shape-shift into something that enhances all his physical capabilities by acquiring attributes of an animal. In my case the animal is a wolf,” Scott informed even though it explained absolutely nothing to Liam. Scott’s expression showed that he belatedly realized that to be the case. So he elaborated further. “Wolves became extinct in the year 2398 so I don’t blame you for not knowing about them. Or maybe I should say eradicated?” Scott shook his head at that before continuing.

“You see I haven’t always been successful at keeping my existence a secret from the world—especially in one where everyone and their mothers had free access your entire information with a blink of an eye. The fact that anyone could instantly share video footage of anything they witnessed with the rest of the world didn’t help either—unlike now where any form of social media is declared an act of terrorism. So when I was found out my face became plastered all over the world, I was declared a danger to humanity and a prize on my head was issued. I was to be terminated. Me and a friend I had at the time were forced to go into hiding for more than a hundred years. It wasn’t until public access to the NET crashed during the Technology War that we were finally able to integrate ourselves safely back into society.”

Scott rubbed the back of his neck and stared down at his feet—seemingly only now realizing the state of undress he was in. He briefly glanced Liam’s way—no doubt also noticing Liam’s lack of shirt—before returning his gaze to the ground and sighing. “Ever since then I’ve been very careful about keeping my identity a secret. That meant never being filmed, never letting anyone procure an example of my DNA by whatever means, and yeah, never entering a town with any sort of NET access.” He gave Liam a pointed look then and Liam’s face colored.

Liam forced Scott to break the last one didn’t he? And because of that now someone knew of Scott’s identity. ~~And Scott did so just to come to Liam’s rescue~~. _‘NO! I can’t afford to think like that!’_

“However just because I went into hiding didn’t mean that my pursuers stopped looking for me,” Scott continued, interrupting Liam’s thoughts. “Because of the shape I could take the world leaders decided that pest-control was required and ordered the complete and total extermination of all wolves species just to make sure there weren’t more creatures like me out there. And when that wasn’t enough to satisfy them they went far enough to order the extermination of the entire canine specie. Coyotes, jackals, foxes, dogs, even hyenas for some reason…” Scott listed all these animals names Liam never heard about with a forlorn look on his face that made it obvious that he felt responsible for all their demises. “Here’s a fun a piece of trivia,” Scott mentioned with a sad chuckle. “Did you know that before the phrase ‘grat eat grat world’ was coined it used to be ‘dog eat dog’?”

Even though Scott looked Liam’s way the latter gave no answer. Liam just… couldn’t really think with Scott sitting so near and chatting him up so nonchalantly as if neither of their lives were hanging in the balance. Everything was just too laid back and hard to process. And Liam could still hear the beating of his own heart pounding in his head. He-

“You don’t have to be scared of me,” said Scott all of the sudden and _grat’s feces don’t say that he can smell fear as well?!_

But Liam couldn’t let Scott get the best of him. Liam needed to let Scott know that Liam wouldn’t go down without a fight; even if he had to fake his bravado to do so. “Oh yeah?” Liam countered. “Funny you say that when you’re able to grow fangs and claws, and a bullet to the brain does _nothing to you_ , and you regenerate at an inhuman speed! So _excuse me_ if I’m a little skeptical about the danger that you possess when according to the four stories that you listed _you should have been dead 4 times over!_ ”

Scott frowned then but it wasn’t because he felt threatened in any way. It was because he was pitying the other and Liam _hated Scott for that_. “Then why—knowing that—are you still pointing that thing at me?” Scott asked glancing at the crossbow once more. “I already took like forty of those. You must know that won’t slow me down. Besides, I follow a code; a friend’s legacy,” Scott informed while wetting his lips. “ _Nous protégeons ceux qui ne peuvent pas se protéger eux-mêmes_. It stands for ‘We protect those who can’t protect themselves’. I’m not going to hurt you Liam. I don’t hurt my friends. If nothing else at least believe that.”

He was pleading. Not with his words but with his eyes. How was it possible for brown eyes to be that emotive?

“I- Jod!” Liam cursed as he lowered his weapon and deflated to his knees on the ground. Liam wanted to hold his strong front for longer, he really did but… “I hate it,” Liam mumbled. “I hate that you’re a monster. I hate that in my gut I know that I can’t defend myself against you. I hate the fact that I trusted you even for a second!” Liam shouted with eyes tightly shut and breathing heavily. He wrapped his arms around himself and held back the sob that was threatening to break free. “But what I hate the most is that I don’t even know you and still I completely believe you.”

“Liam-”

“It’s not right!” Liam glared. Scott still looked as hopeless as Liam felt. And what’s more, Scott hadn’t made a move on Liam yet. ~~Scott never was going to anyways~~. Liam turned his face away and glared at the ground instead. His hands gripped his bare arms more firmly and for some reason Liam found himself remembering how it felt to be held by Scott that one time at the church. The tingly feeling in his skin, the warmth Scott’s body heat produced, the zero judgment as Scott snuggly held Liam to his chest. It frightened Liam how much he wanted to relive that. Especially when this was neither the right time or place to be thinking about such a thing!

Yet looking back at Scott it wasn’t difficult to figure out why Liam’s mind had randomly zeroed in on that memory. It was the last time he had felt safe.

Scott made Liam feel safe. Scott _still_ makes Liam feel safe. Otherwise why else would Liam risk his limbs carrying Scott’s unconscious body all the way to here? It certainly wasn’t because Liam was looking to give Scott a burial. It was because even against Liam’s better judgment and efforts toward preventing it from happening, he grew attached to Scott. ~~And now Liam didn’t even want to think about how the rest of his days would play out without Scott in them~~.

“You’re not going to kill me are you?” Liam eventually stated—more than asked—when it became clear that Scott had all the patience of a Saint and wouldn’t be invading Liam’s personal space any time soon. Scott shook his head lightly but said nothing. It was almost as if he was scared that he might spook Liam again if he opened his mouth. _‘Were monsters supposed to be this timid or was mine special?’_ Speaking of possessive terms, “Did you mean that?” Liam asked tentatively. “Are we, do you really consider us friends?”

And Liam hated how his voice got all quiet at that last word. It wasn’t Liam’s intention to make himself sound smaller than he already felt. No wonder Scott was being all soft-spoken and treating Liam like a scared rodent. Liam’s feelings and actions were often so contradictory and at war with each other that even Liam was getting tired of them. Furious with himself he dropped his hands and straightened his arms at either side of him as he waited for Scott’s reply. _‘Great, now I’m heavy-breathing because of anxiety. Will there ever be anything that’s not wrong with me?’_

Liam’s heart may have skipped a beat when Scott responded by first smiling. It was so tender Liam wanted to thumb either side of it and hold it in place forever. _‘For Shepherds’ sake what the jod is wrong with me?!’_ It couldn’t be normal to go from terrified to fond of someone else’s teeth in mere minutes. Liam needed medical help something bad.

“Not even a Berserker’s curse can stop me from being friends with you,” Scott proclaimed, grin reaching maximum levels of unfairness. Nobody should be equipped with a disarming smile quite like his.

“Is that a type of retro slang for ‘yes’?” Liam questioned instead, speaking honestly. “Otherwise I really have no idea what you just said.”

“A hundred percent yes!” Scott affirmed while flashing another grin. Liam’s gaze dropped at that and he felt the urge to wrap his arms around himself again—this time for a different reason. “How long have I been out for?” Scott asked, voice low and curious.

“Almost an entire day,” Liam answered tautly. He finally was able to get himself to relax enough to sit down on the heels of his feet but Liam still had this nervous energy about him that was pushing him to spring up at any minute in case he had to defend himself. If anything it was making Liam snappy.

Liam heard Scott muttering something about how it shouldn’t have taken him so long to heal before he was engaging Liam again. Scott asked the teen about their whereabouts and Liam gruffed out that they were 4 hours northeast of the town they visited. Scott asked about their bags and Liam wisecracked that Scott was more than welcome to go back for them—all Liam had was the stupid soap he had stashed in his back-pocket. Scott asked if Liam had eaten and Liam glared at the ground some more. Scott offered to do some hunting and Liam choked on a laugh.

“With what?” Liam inquired bitterly as he folded his hands over his lap. “You have no traps or snares, and you’re crazy if you think I’m parting with my bow.” Plus it was jodding dark now and they didn’t have a way to make fire so what was the point if nothing could be cooked? Of course Liam didn’t bring that last one up because even if he knew he was to blame for that Liam didn’t want to own up to anything yet.

“Never needed them,” Scott whispered loud enough for Liam to hear and the latter immediately met the former’s searching gaze. Liam felt his stomach drop as he was once again forced to conjured up the image of the hairy beast that took down more than a dozen hunters with nothing but its claws and fangs. This man with the gravelly voice was more dangerous than any other predator Liam had faced. Behind Scott’s inoffensive demeanor laid a beast ready to pounce. Behind his honeyed words about not hurting Liam stood someone who was very capable of doing that and more.

And yet sitting here and finally staring straight into his eyes, Liam could only identify concern in them. Concern for Liam. Just for Liam. Scott might be a beast but right now he looked every bit as human as Liam did. Just another dumb kid trying to figure his way out of things…

Except he wasn’t, was he?

“How old did you say you were?” Liam voiced tonelessly—not wanting to give away his thoughts. Before, when Liam had first asked, Scott said 21. And although Liam agreed that Scott very much looked 21, that wasn’t the truth. 

“About sixteen hundred years?” Scott guesstimated sounding less sure than when he mentioned his birth year. “I stopped counting the actual numbers after I made it past a 1000,” he confessed quietly.

Licking his lips Liam decided to just go ahead with what he really wanted to ask. After all the only way he was ever going to get over his fear was to confront it head-on. “Are you really im- Are all werewolfs—were _wolves?_ —immortal or are you the exception?”

“Were _wolves_ certainly have an extended lifespan but no; they are not meant to live forever. Nothing is really. Circle of life and all that crap. I’m just the lucky dog that death skipped over, is all.”

Even though Scott said that last part cheerily enough, he didn’t exactly sound overjoyed with it. And Liam guessed he could sympathize that the constant hiding could be an issue; but honestly being able to live forever sounded absolutely magma so Liam didn’t really comprehend what Scott’s deal was. Even so Liam found himself eager to find out.

“So what happened?” Liam asked tentatively—focusing on every detail of Scott’s expression, stance, breathing, and movement. Liam wasn’t sure what he was looking to gain from studying Scott’s reactions so meticulously. Maybe Liam was still afraid Scott would try to get the jump on him. Or maybe Liam was hoping for a hint that this was just all some elaborate joke and was looking for the moment when Scott gave himself away. Whatever it was Liam felt like observing Scott was important. “Why are you different from other werewolves then? Were you always immortal? Are there others like you? Where did you come from? Were you created on a lab? Are you even from this planet? Do you even have a mom? Did-”

“Hey hey, slow down a little I can’t keep up,” Scott stressed. Liam closed his mouth then and for the first time ever Scott seemed abashed with the fact that he had Liam’s complete and undivided attention. Scott broke off eye contact and breathed out through his nose before catching sight of his bloodied wound dressings. “I did have a mom by the way. And a dad,” Scott finally said as he entertained his hands with slowly undoing the dressings and setting them down his side one by one. “I wasn’t just some science experiment; and no, I wasn’t born immortal. Believe it or not I was once an ordinary teenager just like you.”

Liam snorted at that. Couldn’t help it. “Yeah I’m sure you were once a privileged nadir forced out of your home only to be made into a kingpin’s bitch, have to scavenge for food and be shot at everywhere you went just like me!” Liam derided. “What, did you have mental disorder too?”

To be honest Liam didn’t know why Scott’s casual comment irritated him so much. Liam guessed that a part of him hated the fact that Scott would use Liam as an example of normalcy. ~~And maybe Liam was slightly hurt by the fact that someone so obviously spectacular like Scott only regarded Liam simply as ordinary~~. But hey, at least Liam lashing out at Scott meant that his apprehension toward the werewolf was ebbing away so it’s not all bad, right?

“You were chased out of your home?” Scott asked immediately all alarmed and of course he would zero-in on that instead of Liam’s hostile attitude.

“We’re not talking about me,” Liam circumvented between gritted teeth. “I’m not the one who has to explain himself.”

“But-” Scott started and Liam narrowed his eyes at him. Scott’s shoulders dropped and Liam realized that Scott was also trying to avoid talking about himself just as much as Liam was. The difference was that Liam didn’t have an honest bone in his body nor felt it necessary to share everything about himself; though apparently Scott did. “I had asthma,” Scott mentioned and it took Liam a second to realize that Scott was answering Liam’s earlier remark. Scott didn’t shy away from Liam’s gaze now; and something in the way Scott was looking at Liam told the teen that Scott still had what little Liam had revealed about himself in the back of his mind.

~~Thankfully though Scott never really seemed to push Liam for anything so Liam wasn’t worried about Scott bringing it up again.~~

“However one day some freak bit me and against my will I was turned into a werewolf. It took some time for me to adjust into my new lifestyle but with the help of my friends I eventually did. I also met a lot of other werewolves along they way. Both born and bitten. There actually used to be a lot of us,” Scott revealed with another one of those smiles that didn’t reach his eyes and Liam already knew where this was heading.

“Not anymore I take it,” Liam mumbled and Scott gave a half-smirk before shaking his head.

“Haven’t met one in over 500 years,” he admitted before looking down and scratching the side of his face—right beside his eyebrow. There was something funny about the action—funny as in strange—but Liam couldn’t quite put his finger on it yet. All Liam knew was that he has seen Scott scratch that particular spot before. “As for how I became immortal, I don’t really know it myself. At least not in its entirety. All I know is that one day I was a regular twenty-one-year-old with too much baggage on his shoulders and no clue about how to even deal with life, and then I woke up to my eyes no longer glowing the right color. It didn’t dawn on me then; it actually took me a couple of years for me to realize it. But ever since then my life stopped moving forward.”

“What do you mean exactly? What, what stopped?”

“My hair keeps growing but I don’t age. I don’t get dehydrated or malnourished even when I don’t consumed anything but I’ll still feel hunger and thirst. Deep lethal wounds don’t mean anything. As soon as I take out whatever foreign thing I have in my body it will heal itself like nothing happened. Poison can only null my senses but it won’t off me. I could literally jump off a skyscraper and become scrambled egg like Humpty Dumpty and I’ll still wake up the next morning in one piece. If I drown I’ll eventually wake up in some shore like nothing happened. Blood is replaced as soon I lose it. Basically every possible scenario that leads to my death gets automatically nullified. And yeah, even procreation. I can have sex but I can’t father children.”

Scott lowered his gaze and turned his hands palm-up on his lap. “I can’t die. And if that doesn’t define immortal then I don’t know what I am.” His eyes glowed again for a brief second and he closed his hands into fists. “What’s really fucked up is that the only person who could’ve helped me figure this out refused to do so,” Scott blurted out bitingly. For all two seconds he got really heated. But just as quickly as it came, it passed and his face fell again. Though his gaze remained just as unfocused. “Got mad at her,” Scott continued in half-sentences. “Said some hurtful things. Didn’t mean them. Disappeared for a while.” And now Liam knew what Scott’s expression looked like when he felt lost. “Calmed down later. I always do. Went back to apologize. Didn’t find her. Wrote me a note saying she needed to get away to think. Looked for her everywhere…”

The increasing choppiness of Scott’s sentences was unsettling Liam. A part of him told Liam he shouldn’t interrupt Scott while he was telling his story. An even bigger part of Liam was screaming at him to make Scott stop because reliving that memory was hurting him in more ways than one and Liam didn’t want to be responsible for it. Liam listened to the latter. “S-Scott?” But it was too little too late.

Scott looked up at the sound of his name and offered Liam a rueful smile; but the shine in Scott’s eyes told Liam that the damage was done. “I’ve been looking for Banshees for a very long time now,” Scott began again and it was obvious he skipped over whatever chunk of the story he was having difficulty getting to earlier. “Banshees are basically girls with the ability to sense when someone is going to die. Though apparently it’s way harder to find them when you lose your mortality. The only time I ever seem to spot one is when I hear their dying wail. Pretty messed up, right?” Scott joked and Liam had to tell himself that the way Scott tried to laugh it off wasn’t in any way, shape or form heartbreaking. “Feels like a curse at least. Gave up on finding one a long time ago too,” he muttered at the end.

Liam was quickly reminded of the strangled girl at the graveyard from a few days ago—the one Scott abruptly dropped everything for the moment he heard her scream. Scott had mentioned she was a Banshee too. ~~_Now that Liam thought about it Scott had also touched his eyebrow then when he lied about them being a cult_~~. Scott might say he given up on finding one alive and he probably tries to convince himself of that too. Yet no one runs that fast for a hopeless dream. Assuming that Liam believed everything that is pouring out of Scott’s mouth right now, Liam imagined that somewhere deep inside Scott was still waiting for that time when he won’t be late.

“It’s really getting dark,” Scott observed out loud. “The animals are quiet,” he mentioned and Liam took it for what it was—an attempt to drop the conversation. Scott’s eyes roamed his surroundings, turning his upper body around to glance behind him before facing Liam with a confused look on his face. “Are we really… without any of our stuffs?” he asked with a pause—eyes still trying to pick up on something he might have missed.

“Not my fault,” Liam mumbled and got defensive when Scott gave him a puzzled look. “What? It was either carrying your heavy posterior as far away as I could from there or wasting time trying to find our gear and hightailing it on my own because there was no way I was going back for you after I left! So be more thankful because you weren’t exactly fun or light to carry around and my ankle jodding hurts because of it and my shirt got ruined and I’m cold and starving and-”

“And confused and exhausted and stressed out of your mind,” Scott finished for Liam. The nineteen-year-old shut his mouth and glared at Scott for interrupting the rant and for some reason that procured small smile out of Scott. “You’re pouting,” he stated and Liam glared at harder. Liam also soften the tightness on his lower lip because he certainly _wasn’t_ pouting but that just made Scott’s smile stretch wider. “Thank you though, for not leaving me behind I mean.”

“Yeah well,” Liam looked away not wanting to get caught up in it. “I clearly wasn’t thinking straight, so there.”

“…Liam?” Scott quietly called after a brief moment of silence. Liam didn’t give a response but he did tilt his head ever so slightly to indicate that he was listening. “You aren’t still afraid of me are you?”

That was a difficult question to answer. Was there reason for Liam to be scared of Scott? _Yeah, plenty._ Does the fact that Scott can transform into a monster with fur, sharp teeth, claws and glowing eyes frighten Liam? _Yeah, it obviously does._ Was the fact that Scott was unkillable disturbing Liam? _Of course because if that was true then Liam really had no chance against him. Logically speaking if Scott decided to attack Liam would literally have no control over the outcome._ Did Liam honest to heart believe that Scott would try to hurt him?

“I… don’t know…” Liam mumbled. “My brain is still trying to keep up. I don’t… I don’t think I have processed it all yet.”

“You need sleep,” Scott declared, shifting to stand up for the very first time. His hair was mated to his scalp because of all the dried blood. Liam realized that he probably should have attempted to clean Scott better when he was unconscious but back then Liam was afraid that Scott might bleed out quicker if Liam got him in the water. Now the pond was probably a little too cold for anyone to get into—might have to wait until morning to take a bath. Plus… Liam forgot to take one also. He must reek.

Scott’s face was free of any dirt though. Liam had made sure of that. Scott’s bare arms, chest and torso seem to gleam in the moonlight. Liam had tried to clean as much dirt and blood from Scott as possible before dressing up his wounds but Scott’s quick healing had freaked Liam out enough that he hadn’t noticed until now that Scott had more tattoos on his body other than the two bands on his left arm—Liam couldn’t tell what they were in the dark though. And to be honest Liam’s brain was too busy short-circuiting to care about figuring it out when this was the first time he’d come face-to-face with a half-naked Scott standing in front of him. And Liam couldn’t keep his admiring gaze away.

Muscles everywhere.

Scott was an intimidating figure to be sure. Yet all Liam could focus on was that Scott was even more striking than Liam had imagined he would be. Catching himself Liam immediately lifted his eyes to meet Scott’s gaze. Except Scott wasn’t really paying attention to Liam—instead Scott was _sniffing?_ the air. And when that was over Scott bent down to pick up the remains of Liam’s tattered shirt, sniffed that also and probably deemed it too unsalvageable because Scott was quick to pull it away from his nose.

“I’ll go toss this away before it attracts the grats,” Scott announced. “Try to catch some rest while I’m gone and come first sunlight tomorrow I’ll see if I can find us something we can eat.” Scott gave the pond a quick glance before disappearing from sight.

Finally alone Liam stayed seated exactly where he was for a long while. Eventually Liam went through the motions of removing his sneakers—briefly wondering how Scott was coping with having to travel barefooted—and trying to get as comfortable as he could with having to lie down on this cold, hard, pebbly ground. Sleeping on the floor wasn’t at all new to Liam. It was just an easier job to do when he had a jacket and his quilt with him. Now he had neither. Liam deliberated on whether or not to scurry out of his pants and use them as a pillow but ended up deciding not to. Liam didn’t need to feel more vulnerable than he already did.

As Liam laid down on his left side he reached out for the crossbow—locking the safety on and tugging it to his chest for protection. Scott might not try to hurt him but Liam had no clue what else might find them here. They were near a large supply of water after all. And although nothing showed up during daytime who knew what night creatures might be lurking around in the dark. Better not take any chances.

Though now that Liam was left alone with his thoughts all he could do was think back on everything that Scott just exposed to him. To be honest Liam didn’t understand half of what was said. Like what in Shepherd’s name Scott meant by ‘social media’ and why it was banned. Liam also was having a hard time wondering what a dog looked like. If grats were two-headed disease-carrying rodents and the saying used to be ‘dog eat dog’, then these dogs must have been some horrenda-ugly jodtards. And were they known for having glowing eyes also? _‘Great, now I’m going to have nightmares thinking about them.’_

Yet Liam also couldn’t stop thinking about everything Scott glossed over. Like the fact that all Scott had to do was get bitten by some freak to turn into a werewolf. Like where’s the logic in that? And exactly what type of freak were they talking about? Another werewolf? And who was the friend Scott went into hiding with? Why weren’t they around anymore? And the girl, the banshee, the death seer… Scott said she refused to help him but the other day he said she saved him. That’s was so contradictory…

What happened in the in-between of Scott not finding her and him looking for other banshees? What was Liam missing?

And Scott touched the side of his eyebrow just before he said he didn’t know how he became immortal too. Scott did that exact same thing when he didn’t tell the truth about his age. Not only then but Liam also remembered Scott scratching his face when he said that banshees were a cult. Same thing when he said that he read about Second Asia in a book. More than three times was definitely a pattern.

Liam must have fallen asleep at some point because next thing he knew he woke up to the sound of rustling leaves behind him. When Liam opened his eyes the first thing he noticed was that the crossbow was no longer in his grasp. The second thing he noticed was that his head was being cushioned by a bed of leaves so that his neck was no longer bent at an awkward angle. The last thing Liam noticed was that the rustling sound came from Scott making a bed of leaves right beside him.

Was Scott planning on rolling Liam there?

Liam didn’t know why he did it but he closed his eyes and pretended to still be asleep. He kept them closed even as a sudden gust of wind blew the assembled leaves away and he heard Scott muttering soft retro curses as the werewolf gathered them again only to throw himself on them when another gust of wind blew by. Liam couldn’t stop himself from shivering the second time the cold wind touched his skin but his heart stilled the moment he felt the palm on Scott’s hand land near Liam’s exposed shoulder.

_‘Warm.’_

After giving Liam’s shoulder a small squeeze Scott stood up and left. Liam began to wonder where the other went until being startled by the sound of another round of leaves being deposited behind him. _Liam had not heard Scott’s footsteps at all_. Though that was nothing compared to when Scott settled himself in the bed of leaves and pulled Liam toward him to lay on the bed with him. For a moment there Liam panicked and thought that Scott was going to wrap his arms around Liam and keep him in a hold but just as quickly as Scott got Liam on the bed of leaves Scott released the teen and turned himself around.

All Liam could feel was Scott’s shoulder blades lightly pressing against his. Liam did not know what to do.

“Your bow is at arm’s reach above you by the way,” Scott muttered all the sudden into the quiet of the night. He didn’t sound the least bit surprised to discover that Liam was awake. But how did he find Liam out? “Your heart’s beating pretty fast,” Scott answered before Liam could even voice the question. “I figured if you knew where your weapon was at all times then you’d be less nervous about being around me.”

Liam swallowed and rubbed his hands up and down his arms—the movements making the leaves rustle nosily below them. Liam felt Scott shifting to press his upper back more prominently against the teen’s and Liam couldn’t keep quiet any longer. “W-What are you doing?” Liam questioned, voice slightly panicky.

“Preserving the heat,” Scott muttered groggily. “You’re cold and there’s no blankets. Don’t want my friends getting sick on me,” he explained freely using that word again— _friends_ —even after he points out the possibility of Liam still wanting to shoot him. It wasn’t like Liam owed Scott any explanations; but it didn’t feel right to let him fall to sleep with that notion being the last thought on his mind.

“The bow wasn’t for you,” Liam mumbled as he shifted in his position so that his back was completely pressed against Scott’s. The welcomed heat Liam immediately felt coursing through his bare skin and Scott’s surprised gasp at Liam’s action almost made the blue-eyed teen forget his line of thought. _Almost_. Liam glared at the darkness in front of him to stay focused. “I kept it close just in case some animal tried to make a meal out of us.”

Scott let out a yawn then. Liam guessed that healing from what must have been mortal wounds took more energy out of Scott than he was willing to admit. Liam had never heard Scott sound this tired before. “There’s nothing around,” Scott mumbled. “I checked the perimeter before coming back here. And even if there were—in this silence—I’d hear them come way before they see us,” he yawned again then, breathing out his last words. “I’ll keep you safe.”

Safe…

That word kept buzzing at the back of Liam’s head but suddenly Liam also found himself too tired to listen to it. He blamed Scott’s yawns for it because now Liam was doing it too. But before Liam could call it a night, another thought that’s been bothering him came to the forefront of Liam’s mind and his brain was too tired to think it through before Liam started murmuring it.

“Scott?”

“Hmm?”

“That friend of yours, the banshee, the one you couldn’t find… You heard her scream didn’t you?”

It wasn’t until after Liam voiced the question that he realized how cruel a thing it was to ask. So much for not letting the night end on a sour note. Liam was about to retract the question and let Scott know that he didn’t have to answer it but Scott beat him to it. Scott’s broken words barely loud enough to be called a whisper.

“…There isn’t a night when I don’t.”

_‘And I bet he has to relive it every time he hears a banshee. Jod.’_ Liam felt like the world’s biggest dimwitted horrenda-stain. 

~x~x~

_The first few months after the shootout were rough for Liam. Because of the turf war everything he had come to known after escaping the Dome had come to an abrupt end. It wasn’t that Liam was ever safe there but at least it was a danger he had grown accustomed too. But after everything came crashing down Liam knew he had to travel as far away as he could because he was good as dead if anyone found him out. Liam was the prized messenger boy of the previous kingpin after all. Many had seen his face and many had threatened to mar it before. And now that Liam wasn’t under any kind of protection he was terrified of what they would do to him if they found out he was still breathing._

_So traveling to the South it was._

_At fifteen Liam did not know how to hunt though, and surviving on vegetation was only going to last him for so long. At first Liam had tried to integrate himself into other nomadic groups but in the end those turned out to be a short-lived collections of the most traumatic experiences he had ever encountered. Deceived and betrayed more times than he could count with his fingers. It was still amazing that Liam survived all those situations unscathed. Though it did nothing to help his developing trust issues._

_Liam remembered this one troupe of capra breeders. They seemed nice enough. Two sisters, a boyfriend and three other friends all in their early twenties. They traveled along a female capra that they were delivering to a barn another 8 days of travel away. They offered for Liam to tag along even after Liam had tried unsuccessfully to steal one of their backpacks as they slept. They didn’t try to punish Liam in any way after they caught him. Even fed him a bumapple. And for once Liam had felt like he didn’t have to hold his guard up all the time. He was wrong._

_Little did Liam know that he was being primed up to serve as a sacrificial lamb. For what purpose Liam never got to find out. All he knew was that once they reached the barn he was chloroformed and next thing he knew he was chained up to a table in a room that was lit up with the glow of a plethora of candles. Except when Liam moved to sit up the chains fell through—they were broken up, not unlocked. And when Liam slithered out of the room he had found none of his captors around—yet obvious signs of struggle everywhere. Liam ran out of there as fast he could but got caught up in a thunderstorm. Luckily he was able to get under a toolshed before the worst of it struck down on him._

_Unfortunately Liam was drenched from head to toe and sure that he was going to catch pneumonia. But Liam didn’t have a choice. He didn’t have anything to dry himself with and it would have been suicide to go out in the storm again. So Liam stayed holed-up in that little shed trembling to death and hoping that the leaking roof didn’t give away. The last thing he remembered seeing before he lost consciousness was the glare of purple._

_When Liam woke up he was dried and draped in a cream colored quilt—the one he would later take with him everywhere—and outside Liam found the female capra. Roasted._

~x~x~

Liam woke up to the sound of a heartbeat. He held his left hand over his eyes upon opening them because the Sun was hurting him with its brightness. Daylight. So it was already morning. Bothersome because Liam felt like he could have slept more. He lowered his hand to wipe the drool off his mouth but it landed on a warm chest. One that wasn’t Liam’s own.

_‘Nipple?’_

…

_‘Not my nipple.’_

…

_‘Then…’_

Liam sat up immediately and gawked with wide eyes at the person he was using as a pillow. Sometime during the night they must have rolled over and somehow ended with Scott flat against the bed of leaves and Liam resting his face on Scott’s chest. His _bare_ chest. The chest that currently had Liam’s drool all over it. Liam tried taking his eyes off it only start ogling Scott’s abdomen instead.

Without thinking Liam moved his left hand down Scott’s chest and started tracing the lines between his abs. _‘He’s even more cut than me.’_ Catching himself Liam quickly removed his hand and shuffled back only to stop at the sight of Scott’s tattoos. They were all on the left side of Scott’s torso running from under his armpit to his hip. All easily concealed by keeping his arm down.

The tattoos were all small symbols, like tokens. Sixteen in total, all black, and all aligned in a zigzagging row. The first one was a bow and arrow. The second one was a baseball bat. The third one consisted of three swirly things connected together and so on until it reached the last one. Liam recognized the last symbol as Scott’s copper lighter. The one Liam lost. _‘Jod.’_

Liam was about to reach for the tattoo and trace it with a finger until Scott began to stir awake. Liam waited on him as Scott stretched his arms over his head before flopping back on the leaves. The newly-found-out werewolf opened his eyes and turned his head toward Liam.

“Hey,” Scott greeted softly, blinking the sleep out of his eyes until his brown irises were able to focus solely on Liam. And just like that Liam’s dream hit the teen right in the face like a flying gyro disk and all semblance of self-composure left him.

_‘JOD!!!’_

Much to Scott’s confusion Liam scrambled away on hands and knees until reaching the crossbow and pointed it right back at Scott—safety off! “Liam? What’s hap-”

“ _Shut up!!_ ” Liam yelled getting on his feet and taking a few extra steps backwards before tripping and falling back down on his rear—only to try to scurry further until Scott lifted a hand toward him. “Stay back!” Liam screamed again. Scott could only stared at Liam with sad eyes while the blue-eyed teen chided himself because _‘jod how come it took me this long to piece everything together?? How can I be so stupid!’_

The purple lights! The Shepherd. _Scott being the Shepherd!_ The glowing eyes! The same purple eyes that Liam had seen ever since he was fifteen. The person that always got Liam out of all those tight spots. Their official meeting almost a week ago. Scott looking at Liam as if they known each other before. Their meeting not being a coincidence at all! Scott _stalking_ Liam for 4 years—maybe more! _Scott studying Liam by following him around and then pretending to know nothing about Liam when finally caught by him!_ Scott getting in Liam’s head and making the human trust him. How did Liam not put any of that together last night?!

“What’s your endgame?” Liam shouted at him; anger toward Scott suddenly overpowering the unadulterated fear Liam felt constricting his heart. This was creepy! This was messed up! _‘Was everything he said before a lie?’_ Just how long had Scott been learning about Liam before the supposed werewolf even introduced himself? Liam knew Scott was too good to be true! He knew it!

“Liam what endgame?” Scott asked standing upright even though Liam warned him not to move but raising his hands up in surrender. “I don’t understand-”

“Four years ago a bullet tore through my ankle and I should’ve died! But then a howl stopped my chasers on their tracks and someone saved me. That someone was you wasn’t it?” Liam spat daring Scott to deny it. _He didn’t_. “And that wasn’t the only time you saved me from something. Admit it you’ve been following me for years you- you sick- perverted- stalker!”

“That isn’t-” Scott started defending himself while taking a step forward and Liam couldn’t help it. His finger pulled the trigger and the bolt went flying straight at Scott at inhuman speed. Yet Scott caught it like it was nothing by pure reflex. And Liam could tell it was a subconscious move because Scott looked honestly surprised with the feat. ~~Or maybe he was surprised that Liam shot him in the first place~~.

“I t-told you to not get any closer,” Liam upheld weakly when Scott’s wide brown eyes landed back on the teenager. Liam was suddenly very afraid of how Scott might react now that Liam made the first move. The human only counted with five more bolts before he had to reload—and something told Liam that shooting them all now wouldn’t make much of a difference.

“Calm down Liam,” Scott tried again, letting the bolt drop to the ground and taking a step backward. “I can, explain. You’re just… not going to believe me.”

“Try me,” Liam argued trying to go for confident.

“I already did once. You thought I was mad,” Scott explained with a defeated sigh—not making any sense.

So Liam told him just that. “You’re not making any sense.”

“The Son of Grendel,” Scott stated as if that explained anything. “That’s the story based on the second time I was discovered. Yeah,” Scott smiled despondently. “My attempts at hiding my identity haven’t always been successful. Being a late adapter to the latest tech played a big part on that one. The year was 2997 in Oceania. This time around my profile wasn’t publicized to the world—just to the ones in charged of running the government. I was confined in a secret military base where they tortured me for close to two hundred years.”

“Why- Why didn’t you try to get away then?” Liam questioned hesitantly. He didn’t know exactly what Scott was trying to gain by telling this story but at least as long as he kept talking Liam had time to figure out what his next move should be.

“Electricity is one of a werewolf’s biggest weaknesses,” Scott revealed without any kind uncertainty. “You’d actually have a better time fending me off with a EMD stick than a crossbow,” he informed Liam while taking another glance at said weapon. “Shock me with the right constant amount of it and it’ll prevent me from transforming.”

The fact that Scott would so willingly share his weak-points with Liam told the teen 1 of 2 things—that Scott either trusted Liam to not use that information against him, or that Liam _really_ presented no menace to Scott whatsoever with the current weaponry. Either reason had Liam gritting his teeth because of the lousy picture they both painted about Liam’s capabilities. “Is there a point to this story?”

“Yes there is,” said Scott, dropping his hands down and staring pointedly at Liam. “The point is that they tried everything to off me. Asphyxiation. Decapitation. Radiation. Starvation. And _nothing_ gave them the permanent result they wanted. So they kept torturing me instead until a new branch came up with new ideas and the cycle repeated itself again. And it would have continued on that way if it hadn’t been for a new recruit that took pity on me and lowered the output on which I was being electrocuted even though he had no idea of what I was.”

At that Scott paused to breathe in through his nose and out through his mouth before continuing. “Thanks to that soldier I was able to recover enough of my strength to break out of my shackles and escape with my life. I have not returned to Oceania ever since except to thank the soldier. And that’s where the crazy part of the story is at Liam. Because that soldier was you.”

_‘Because that soldier was… me?’_

**_…What?_ **

No really. _‘What even?’_

“I know it sounds mad but that’s actually the ninth time we met. Different name, yes. As well as different background, life, origin, family and accent but I can always tell when it’s you. You see I’m alive because I am immortal. But as I have come to discover, that isn’t the only way to cheat death.”

“Wha- What are you saying? Explain or I swear I’ll shoot to blind you!”

“Liam, Dylan, Priam, Ian, Milan, Keelan, Rylan, William, Zidane, Brian, Kreeam, Cylan, and back to Liam. All 13 different people—different lifetimes—yet all an incarnation of the very same person. I was 17 when I first met you Liam. 138 the second time it happened. Almost 300 the third time. I know it sounds crazy and I get it if you don’t believe me; but it’s the truth. At first I couldn’t figure out what was happening. Why was it that you kept being reborn? Why was it only just you when none of our friends did? Why was it that you never remembered me or any of your past lives? For how long had it been happening? How many more times will it continue to happen until it stops? We never got an answer.”

“We?”

“A friend I used to travel with. You see she was a Kitsune, a trickster. When I became immortal she used her last tail to trick her time into stopping as well. We roamed the world together for close to 600 years. She was with me until the fall of Second Asia. She was… more than a friend actually—the woman I loved.” Scott’s eyes stopped focusing on Liam then, his expression becoming pained. “We knew that the end of the Technology War meant we didn’t have to keep hiding anymore; but we both knew that we still wouldn’t be able to settle down anywhere as long as we didn’t age. I… I was never going to be able to provide her the fulfilling life and family we always wanted. I didn’t have the heart to ask her to stay. So I set her free of me. Broke off her last tail. Made time run for her again. Gave the chance at a peaceful life back to her. Pretended to disappear. Stuck around long enough to watch her marry someone else and named her firstborn after me. Disappeared for good after. Haven’t loved another girl since.”

“The Painted Warrior,” Liam whispered recognizing the events that probably inspired the tragic love story. He saw Scott tracing his armband tattoo with his right hand. A circle enclosed by a bigger one. _‘What did they mean?’_

“Her granddaughter wrote that one,” Scott said with a difficult smile, “A best seller.”

The friend that gave Scott the copper lighter; the girl that’s a banshee; the friend whose battle code Scott is borrowing; the trickster woman. There’s something to be said about the fact that Scott couldn’t bring himself to call any of them by name. Yet he somehow had an easy time naming all those people that were supposedly Liam in another lifetime. _‘But grat feces he has had me going on a tangent for long enough!’_ All Liam really needed was the answer to one thing.

“Why were you stalking me?” Liam questioned impassively. “Why did you wait so long to introduce yourself? Why did you pretend you didn’t know anything about me!”

“Because you would have been afraid of me!” Scott countered back—not quite shouting at Liam but riled up enough for Liam to tell that he was starting to exasperate Scott, which was good. Maybe that would be enough to make Scott stop rehearsing his answers in his head and give Liam some real ones.

“Exactly!” Liam yelled getting back up to his feet and taking a step forward with the crossbow pointed at Scott’s head. “So why would you insist on following me anyways? Even if you were telling the truth about me being reborn multiple times, why would you go to such lengths to find me?! Wouldn’t it be easier to just _leave me alone_?”

“Because you never do,” Scott stated, voice rockier than Liam had ever heard it before and shoulders sagging. Then all the sudden Scott let out this frustrated groan and started aggressively messing up his hair with his hands. “I always _always_ feel it when you’re born!” Scott asserted. “Right here,” he specified by hitting his chest. “No matter how far away we are from each other I always do and it’s the highlight of my day! But I also feel it when you die and that’s always the worst feeling in the world.” He lowered his hands to his sides and gave Liam a pleading look. “For some reason I’m connected to you. And so far the only purpose that connection has served me for is to let me know when you’re here.”

“Then why not just ignore it?” Liam asked, not as heated as before but just as confused. “Why go through all the trouble of finding me if you’re not planning on letting me find out about you? What’s the point?”

“The point is to keep you safe,” Scott answered. He took another big breath in and Liam noticed how Scott’s eyes closed off. “I’m not always there. I’m not, I’m not stalking you day in and day out. I’m just around enough to make sure you’re alright and then go on my way.” He was reining in his emotions again—giving controlled answers. “This time around you were born inside a Dome and I couldn’t get in without setting off some kind of alarm. But with you being inside one I figured that you’d be okay for the rest of your life. I never imagined that I would get to meet you; much less that I’d find you outside the Dome caught in a war between drug lords.”

“That day you rescued me, was that the first time you met me?”

Scott shook his head. “No,” he denied. “I tracked you down two days before the shootout. It was enough to learn that you were being paid in pills but beside that I knew nothing about you. After the shootout I kept close but always at a distance. Close enough to feel it whenever you were in danger, far enough to never eavesdrop on your conversations—to never learn your name. I… whenever the ball is in my favor, I normally introduce myself to you on your 18th birthday. Then I only stay in your life for about 4 years every time. That’s usually how long it takes you to pick up on the fact that I’m not aging.” Scott’s lips twitched then. He didn’t quite smile. It was more of a nerve reaction that had only reached half of the muscles need for an actual smile. “Then I have to disappear and move halfway across the country for fear that we’ll cross paths again with me still looking exactly as you remembered me.”

He shrugged the last part off like if it was nothing. And for some reason the action only infuriated Liam. _‘Was I really so easy to dump that 4 years with me isn’t enough for him grow some level of attachment for me?’_ Liam knew nothing about those supposed other versions of himself but he didn’t think that either of them would have taken well to being abruptly abandoned like that without an explanation. It just seemed so cold of a move to pull. And Scott’s shut-off gaze was doing nothing to quell the disillusionment building up inside Liam.

So Liam kept on badgering Scott with questions. Anything to stave off the unwelcomed ache in his chest.

“That one time when those bandits stole my meds. If you were watching me why didn’t you stop them?”

“I wasn’t around when that happened. You usually stay in one place for more than a month. So when I came back to the park and you weren’t there… I’m not gonna lie, I panicked. Took me quite a while to track down your scent again.”

“Where were you then?” Liam asked and Scott shook his head—stared down at his feet. Liam gritted his teeth and marched forward until he was standing right in front of Scott—tip of the bow poking at his chest. Scott lifted his head but his eyes didn’t meet Liam’s. They just stayed looking over Liam’s shoulder staring at nothing. “Scott-” 

“I thought I was late you know,” Scott muttered under his breath, cutting Liam off. “When I finally located you that night you were already inside their hideout. I infiltrated the place and followed your scent as inconspicuously as I could but I only found your stuff. And then I heard people shouting and the sound of guns going off and I thought the worst. I thought that I _failed_ you. I didn’t even take the time to realize that my soul hadn’t felt like it was shattering into a million pieces yet. I just, I just ran. Toward you. Blaming myself. Wishing I hadn’t been a coward and introduced myself to you sooner. At eighteen. Like I was supposed to. Like habit.”

It was a subconscious action. Liam didn’t even noticed that he had begun lowering his weapon until he heard it clattered on the ground—no longer in Liam’s grasp. “Scott-”

“But then I saw you,” Scott continued—finally locking eyes with Liam and trapping the teen with his brown colored gaze. Scott’s eyes were no longer closed off. “I saw you and I knew that I wouldn’t be able to tear myself away from you any longer if I tried. So I haven’t. And unless you wish different, I won’t,” he affirmed, sounding strong and resolute even though his eyes were flickering with an emotion Liam couldn’t describe. And Liam just couldn’t understand why.

“Why me?” Liam asked. What’s so special about him? Why give Liam all the power in this decision? ~~Why did they still have this wall between them?~~

Scott half-shrugged with his right shoulder—the corners of his lips tugging at a crestfallen smile. “Haven’t you heard? I’m the Hounded Bloke,” he laughed sounding defeated. “I roamed the world waiting for the chance to see my friend again—or at least the next incarnation of him—while knowing perfectly well that I can’t visit for long. That I don’t fit into his world. That I can never be a significant part of his life.”

Liam laughed too, only slightly hysterical. He couldn’t help it. “So wait, you mean to tell me that that story is about me?” Liam asked and felt his heart constrict the moment Scott gave a quiet nod. This wasn’t happening. “So wait, wait. You mean to say that you went through all of that just to get the chance at being my friend for a couple of years?”

The incredulity in Liam’s voice—even though he saw how it caused Scott to flinch—Liam couldn’t tamper it off. “I guess,” Scott answered just the same.

“And knowing that I would just be reborn with no previous knowledge about you. You never tried to get anything else out of it? Not even once?” And Liam himself tried not to recoil at the hurt look Scott gave him for suggesting something like that.

“I guess I can see how just tagging along with you for a short while might seem a little dull to you compared to how I have to spend the rest of my life. But honestly, even if it might not seem like much, just being able to be around you again, even if just for a minute, is enough.” And grat feces. That emotion in Scott’s eyes that Liam couldn’t recognize before was now all too clear for him. Vulnerability. “It’s what keeps me going,” Scott admitted. “I don’t really have much going for me nowadays. It’s _really_ easy to lose hope,” he continued. “But whenever I’m close to losing it, I remember that by holding on, I’ll get to see you again and… You’re my hope Liam.”

His voice was breaking Liam’s resolve and it’s all Liam can do to not reach up and wipe the unshed tears framing Scott’s lower eyelids. 

So Liam does much worst. He crashed into Scott and immediately felt the werewolf’s arms enveloping him—cradling him. Holding Liam so close with a strength that should had scared Liam but instead had the human melting against Scott. Liam’s arms obstinately remained at either side of him but his face was stubbornly buried in the junction between Scott’s neck and shoulder. “Don’t cry,” Liam mumbled even as sobs started to rock his own body. Liam felt Scott’s hands rub up and down his spine and the teen shivered—never wanting to escape from this.

“Can’t promise you that,” he heard Scott mumbling into his hair as Scott squeezed Liam tighter against him. _It should feel weird_. Embracing another person chest-to-chest without a sliver of cloth barring their skins from touching; hearing Scott trying to stifle his own sniffles right next to Liam’s ear; Liam realizing that he could in fact cry for another person that wasn’t himself. But it didn’t. In fact Liam felt empowered by all of those things. Just the knowledge that Scott wouldn’t let go of him unless Liam broke it off first told Liam everything he needed to know about Scott.

Scott would never try to hurt Liam. Liam didn’t have to be scared of Scott. Scott cared about Liam. Liam mattered to Scott.

“Does this mean you believe me?” Scott asked, tone soft and low—as if he was still nervous that Liam would try to shoot him again.

Maybe it was the hunger— _Liam haven’t eaten in more than 24 hours_. Maybe it was it was stress-induced— _how long had the adrenaline been pumping in Liam’s veins for_? Jod Liam even wished he could blame it on his medication. But for whatever reason Liam’s hands moved on their own volition as he broke off their embrace. They cupped Scott’s tear-stained face and next thing Liam knew he was standing on his toes and pulling Scott’s face down to crash their lips together—hoping that would be enough of an answer for Scott.

They were both obviously emotionally attached to one another. Scott sure hugged Liam enough. Practically called Liam his soulmate. It felt like the next logical step. But for some reason Scott stiffened and staggered backward.

“S-Sorry,” he said—voice rattled and eyes thunderstruck. “I-I should probably go find us some breakfast.” Scott looked like he was about to say something else but then he sidestepped Liam and fled away. Leaving Liam slightly dumbfounded and wondering if maybe he really was _that bad_ at reading the signs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ouch, Liam completely blindsided Scott with that one didn't he? _The irony_
> 
> Okay, be honest. Was this chapter too confusing or was it just right? Scott revealed a lot in this chapter, but there's still a lot he hasn't said. Liam himself isn't exactly the most forthcoming either, but we'll see.
> 
> I know that some of you are still questioning the reason for Scott's immortality and what the color of his eyes have to do with them. There's also Scott's difficulty when talking about his friends to consider. And let's not forget about Liam's multiple lifespans and how its all connected to Scott.
> 
> All those questions will be answered, don't worry. Plus, **spoiler alert** , we haven't exactly seen the last of the Silver Corps either...
> 
> Let me know your thoughts!


	5. We have the answer to all your fears…

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter turned out to be more ambitious than what I set it out to be. Hence after taking into consideration the advice provided by **Sciamftw** , I decided to split this chapter into two parts--and therefore tallying up the numbers of chapters by one. ~~It was either that or typing a rushed ending and I seriously didn't want to do that~~. This first part is basically "the calm". The second part will be "the storm". Hope you enjoy :)
> 
> Unbeta'd

Saponificated Object for Antibacterial Practice, _soap for short_. The brand currently in Liam’s possession is said to be good for 25 washes. The way Liam was going through it though would probably reduce that number by 7 washes.

He was keeping busy. ~~And certainly not thinking about the mad dash out of there Scott made the moment Liam had kissed him.~~ Busy busy.

 _‘Was my skin always this white?’_ Liam found the water to still be too cold in the morning but since he had nothing else to do with his spare time he decided to tough it out. _‘Is this really soap or acid?’_ The deepest part of the pond only reached up to Liam’s waist so the teen had a clear view of how the water changed color around him. _‘Blood and grime under my fingernails. Will it wash away on its own while I lather my hair or should I chew it out first?’_ The feeling of cleanness definitely had to be one of the best feelings of the world; plus Liam liked imagining that all his problems were being washed away with the dirt. _‘Priam, Dylan, Keylan or whatever his name was. I wonder if Scott slept with any of them?’_ Cleanliness didn’t quell a hungry stomach however. Liam blamed Scott for spoiling him with three meals a day for the past week. _‘Definitely not with Cylan. That name screams virgin.’_

Wait… _‘ **JODDING FUCK** am I really getting jealous over what my previous lives hypothetically did and didn’t do with Scott?’_ Liam wasn’t supposed to be thinking about Scott in the first place! ~~Or the fact that Scott looked spooked before he left and might not even come back even though he said he would and now Liam might have to eat grass or starve.~~

On the bright side Liam was definitely making ‘ _jodding fuck_ ’ his new favorite curse phrase. ~~It sounded even more magma the second time around.~~

“You’re going to peel your skin off if you scrub any harder.”

‘ _Fucking jod!_ ’ Liam thought—not bothering with the fact that he was already screwing up his new phrase as he turned around to see to see a little girl wrinkling her nose at him. “Who in jod’s name are you?” Liam questioned—eyes already spotting the crossbow a few meters to his left. It would only take Liam eight seconds to silence her.

“ _Deja el blanco puto quieto! Él no es parte de las instruciones de abuela,_ ” bellowed another kid. Liam turned his head toward the bed of leaves and saw four other children congregating around a couple of duffle bags. His blue eyes recognized them immediately. “Those are Scott’s!” Liam accused moving a step forward in the water.

“No duh brainless,” the girl replied to which the boy from before shouted something else to her again in a language Liam didn’t understand—though Liam was somewhat sure it was Spanish. After all it wasn’t the first time he’d been referred by that slur. _‘Stupid little dimcicles. I ought to-’_ The girl ignored the complaints of the boy and instead eyed the crossbow settled about twenty steps from her—Liam could still reach it before she did. “I see you found the pond alright,” the girl stated before looking at Liam again—or more specifically at the water below his waist.

Liam narrowed his eyes at her and was about to stomp the rest of the way forward when he heard a familiar voice shouting his name. Everyone turned their heads to see Scott hurrying toward them with a pair of white ardeidaes in each hand ~~and damn those herons were at least a meter tall each~~. All five children quickly lined up in by the duffle bags and stood motionless as Scott slowed down his gait—a confused look on his face.

After Scott’s gaze roamed over each and every one of them—he turned to Liam in silent question. It was hard for Liam to resist the urge of rolling his eyes. “Those are the kids you practically gifted the bos-taurus to. Apparently they tracked us down all the way here to return your bags from wherever it was that you dropped them,” Liam explained while shifting his glare toward the children. “But considering that no one around these parts does something without expecting something in return, I wouldn’t be so quick to trust their intentions.”

“Oh,” said Scott as he turned to face their five intruders again. Scott lifted the ardeidaes in front of him as to display them and said: “Anyone up for chicken?” making all five of the children cheer and circle around him.

Liam wondered if it was too late to reach for the crossbow and call it self-defense.

~x~x~

Scott was a big softie when it came to kids. Liam knew it shouldn’t have come as a surprise at this point but he still felt like it needed to be stated. The little jodtards immediately started talking up a storm in Spanish—an obvious ploy to exclude Liam from the conversation—but thankfully Scott always replied in English so that the teen would know what was going on. Turns out that the kids tracked Scott’s and Liam’s footsteps all the way to their last campsite and retrieved all of Scott’s abandoned bags. Apparently the kid’s _abuela_ told them that they could only keep its contents if they were unable to find Scott first. Liam was actually a little surprised that they went through with it and didn’t try to lie their way into keeping Scott’s stuff.

Just a little though; because even if Liam chose not to comment on it, the glaring absence of a certain wooden guitar did not escaped him.

A moment ago Liam had marched his way out of the pond and grabbed Scott’s long-sleeved grey shirt out of the bag—putting it on. Liam also grabbed a pair of cargo pants—the ones he remembered Scott using the first time they met—to finish covering up. Liam likewise tried his best to turn a blind eye to the fact that Scott completely avoided looking Liam’s way as the teen got dressed. Instead Liam focused his attention on making sure that all five kids stayed within his peripheral vision at all times.

The particular bag Liam rummaged through also contained the skinning knives Scott had traded for, as well as the salt. One of the children carried a lighter made out from a Taser, and used it to make the fire. Liam stopped minding them as much when he heard Scott asking them if they knew of a place where medicine could be found and they all mentioned ‘Sacramento’ in unison, which was a place two weeks west from here. They all seemed pretty convinced about it too. After all seven ate— _‘thank Shepherd for the food… oh wait’_ —Scott sent the kids all off with a pat on the head and leftover food for their other friends. ~~Scott got to keep the taser-lighter hybrid thing~~.

Then came the awkward silence.

Liam wasn’t the one who’d ran away hence he didn’t feel like he had to be the first to break it. Consequently this only led to the awkward duo sitting beside each other determinedly staring at the extinguished fire for the longest of times before Scott finally got uncomfortable enough to start shifting in his spot.

“You ah, smell like gooseberries,” Scott mumbled out, sneaking a peek at the fair-haired brunet while scratching the back of his neck. Liam raised one arm and took a whiff of himself even though the human knew it would all be for naught on account that his sense of smell was worthless. Liam honestly couldn’t tell.

“The soap is right next to my sneakers. You should probably make yourself smell like gooseberries too if you want to head out with me,” Liam said before feeling a certain uneasiness in the pit of his stomach. Liam wasn’t exactly sure where they stood with each other now—what with Liam picturing glowing eyes and sharp teeth every time he saw Scott and with Scott thinking that Liam had tried to sexually assault him earlier—but Liam was hoping that those transgressions were still less severe than a Berserker’s curse.

 ~~ _‘Please don’t stop wanting to be my friend’_~~.

“Gooseberry exclusive are we?” Scott jested and Liam caught the hidden smile even as they both kept staring stubbornly forward. “Maybe we should start a band and call ourselves The Goosebergs. ‘Course since you refuse to sing we’ll have to figure out an instrument for you. Hey do you play?” he asked finally turning his head sideways to glance at Liam.

 _‘So this is how it’s going to be, huh?’_ Scott’s ploy was obvious. The confessed werewolf was trying to bring them back to two nights ago where it was just the two of them goofing off with his guitar and none of them were freaks of nature. Liam considered calling Scott out on it—letting Scott know that he couldn’t keep brushing off the issues he didn’t want to talk about just because he was afraid to address them. But then again Liam wasn’t sure he himself really wanted to tackle them or if he was simply okay with whatever as long as it assured him Scott’s company.

“Just take a bath Scott,” Liam ended up saying, refusing to meet Scott’s gaze.

As Liam wrapped his arms around his knees and rested his chin on them, he heard the dark-haired brunet sigh. Then all the sudden Liam felt the weight of Scott’s right arm over his shoulders as the human was pulled into a one-arm-hug. “Are we okay?” Scott asked while Liam stubbornly glared into the nothingness ahead while fighting the urge of rolling into Scott’s embrace.

“Never better,” Liam mumbled while hiding his face further onto his knees. Scott ruffled Liam’s hair then before standing up while informing Liam that he won’t take long. Liam shrugged his shoulders as if it didn’t matter how long it took Scott to bathe but secretly Liam was hoping that Scott would take as long as necessary to ensure that their awkwardness dissipated. ~~Plus Liam was tired of seeing all that dried blood and grime mucking up Scott’s usually radiant self.~~

The blue-eyed teen waited until hearing the splash of water to uncurl himself. Liam remembered that the water in the pond was only waist-deep for him—and considering Scott was taller—Liam imagined Scott having to crouch down in order to keep himself covered up. Didn’t check though as Liam didn’t want to give Scott more reason to feel uncomfortable around the human. Instead Liam busied himself with rummaging through the rest of Scott’s duffle bags to take inventory of what they were counting with.

Scott would probably be happy to know that he didn’t have to make the rest of the trip barefooted. Liam took out the spare sneakers for Scott and another long-sleeved shirt to match Liam’s plus Scott’s sole remaining cargo pants. Scott joked about wanting them to be in a band together and, well, here’s to dressing the part at least. _‘Nothing says “band” better than dressing alike, right?’_ Hopefully Scott would find it funny as well.

Not stopping there Liam quickly took to reorganizing everything in the bags again—cataloguing what they had and what they didn’t—and it was only then that the inconvenient truth about Liam’s own situation resurfaced. Suddenly all of Liam’s other worries seem trivial in comparison. 

~x~x~

The duo didn’t make it past 20 minutes before Liam’s distracted pace was already slowing them down. Scott kept throwing subtle back-glances to make sure he didn’t get that further ahead of Liam—and the human picked up his pace every time the werewolf did so—but as soon at Scott looked away, Liam’s strength to pretend he had any energy left for this impossible journey would go away also. Liam knew that time was of the essence for someone in his predicament. If anything Liam should be the one hurrying them along… but he just couldn’t.

Subsequently Liam got startled out of his angst fest when he felt the tight grip of hands on his shoulders halting his steps. Raising his head Liam stared into Scott’s brown eyes as the werewolf searched Liam’s face for, well, something. Whatever that ‘something’ was, Liam was too mentally drained to try figuring out. So he asked Scott plainly instead. “What?”

Scott slight grimace probably meant that Liam’s tone had unintentionally come out a little too flat. But then again that wasn’t any different to how Liam’s voice usually sounded so the blue-eyed teen didn’t bother correcting it. However when Liam felt Scott’s thumbs massaging his shoulders, Liam’s eyelids fluttered closed and he couldn’t help relaxing under the werewolf’s touch. “Can I ask you something?” Scott asked.

“No one’s stopping you,” Liam replied, keeping his eyes closed. Liam imagined that Scott probably didn’t appreciate the attitude much but if anything Scott had already proven to be incredibly patient when it came to Liam, so the human wasn’t too worried if he offended Scott or not. Scott had forever to get over it. Liam didn’t.

“Are you angry at me?”

“Why would I be?” Liam asked even as his mind began replaying the looped scene of Scott running away from him that morning. Liam tried to shake the memory off his head—because it wasn’t important—and opened his eyes to meet Scott’s conflicted gaze instead. Liam never had a favorite color, but if for the rest of his life he could only see one color, Liam wouldn’t be opposed to it being the brown in Scott’s eyes. ~~He could stare at them forever~~.

“I don’t know,” Scott responded, a tad sullen as he let his hands fall away from Liam’s shoulders. _‘No. Don’t.’_ “You just seemed that way is all.”

“That’s because I’m sick, Scott,” Liam justified quickly, taking a small step forward and getting into Scott’s personal space to make sure he kept both eyes locked on Liam’s. Scott’s eyes did that thing where they glanced down at the teen’s lips for a millisecond before finding Liam’s gaze again and taking a step backwards. ~~Liam tried his best to ignore the fact that Scott was probably cautious about being kissed again.~~ “I got ASPD remember? I tend to be both irritable and antisocial,” Liam explained almost daring Scott to contradict him. Liam didn’t know why he was picking a fight with the werewolf. _‘Was I picking a fight?’_ Liam just knew that it sure helped keep his brain distracted and that could only be a good thing.

“So you’re not second-guessing your decision to continue traveling west with me?” Scott asked calmly, not budging another centimeter from where he stood. “You aren’t waiting for me to walk far ahead enough so that you have a chance to ditch me?” he questioned and it’s only now that Liam realized how his lack of spirit must have looked like from Scott’s perspective. “Because I meant what I said before, Liam. If you don’t want me around I’ll-”

“It’s not that…” Liam cut in, avoiding Scott’s gaze and staring down at their shoes. Liam looked for an excuse that wouldn’t sink Scott’s mood down to Liam’s own.

Their interactions with each other were all wrong. Liam didn’t exactly expect for them to fall back to the way they were before Silver Corp happened, but this tensed air between them was making everything more unbearable than it should be. Liam knew it probably wasn’t Scott’s intention but that didn’t change the fact that Scott was being too guarded with Liam and that in turn was making Liam feel inadequate. The human didn’t even have to look into Scott’s eyes to tell that the werewolf regretted letting Liam in on the secret. And Liam wasn’t any better—what with him not telling Scott that the teen was about ready to give up on this endeavor.

But Liam couldn’t tell Scott. Not when Liam was probably the worst version of himself that Scott had ever met. Not when Liam didn’t count with enough time to make any of it better. Not when Scott was going to end up leaving the teen behind anyways.

“Liam?”

“Let’s just walk Scott,” Liam said brushing past his traveling companion and avoiding the conversation altogether because Liam was a hypocrite at heart and talking about their problems was way too hard.

For the rest of the day not one word was exchanged between them. When they set up camp at night and Scott cooked the beans for dinner, they ate facing away from each other. Likewise Liam didn’t say anything when Scott laid down next to him that night and the werewolf draped his lone blanket around the both of them.

When Liam closed his eyes his last thoughts were of how he never wanted another day to go by like this one.

_‘I’m sorry I’m such a burden Scott.’_

~x~x~

Liam woke up to the sounds of growling noises. When he sat up and opened his eyes Liam saw a rodent the size of an ursidae hunkering on its front paws standing right in front of him—almost straddling his legs. It was furrier than any creature Liam had seen before; each fang was easily the size of Liam’s head; and its elongated snout was pretty far removed from the rest of its face. But it was its glowing eyes that really sealed the deal for Liam. The human almost wanted to cry because of it.

Yet the monster sized rodent was gone as soon as Liam blinked. And that, somehow, didn’t make any of it better. 

_‘And so it begins’_ the teen exhaled as he rubbed the remaining sleep from his eyes. That was a new one though. It was kinda amazing what Liam’s mind could conjure up when left alone to its own devices. However if that was anywhere close to what actual dogs had looked like before they became extinct then good riddance.

Didn’t take much looking around to notice that the sky was still dark. The Sun wouldn’t be coming up for another few hours. It also didn’t take much to realize that as usual Scott wasn’t anywhere near the spot where he’d laid his head to rest.

Liam—making up his mind while wrapping Scott’s borrowed blanket securely around himself—stood up and walked to where he could easily spot a flickering orange glow behind a boulder. It’s sorta telling how Liam wasn’t at all surprised to catch Scott absentmindedly playing with the taser-lighter they got from those hustling kids. What was astonishing though, was the fact that Scott didn’t seem to notice Liam’s presence as the human sat down next to werewolf against the boulder. _‘So much for his remarkable werewolf hearing’_. It wasn’t until Liam blew on the fire as it was lighted again that Scott’s body gave a small startled jump. And Liam couldn’t help laughing a little at Scott’s alarmed expression when he finally sighted the teenager next to him. The laugh, however, quickly turned into a yawn Liam was having difficulty muffling.

_‘Jod I’m so horrenda tired.’_

“Can’t sleep?” Scott asked once he settled down—and Liam was grateful that the brown-eyed brunet didn’t try to scoot away from him again. ~~_‘Maybe Scott was too tired to remember that I made him feel uncomfortable’_~~. Liam denied Scott’s question with a shake of the head and reminded the werewolf of how Liam already explained his inability to sleep through an entire night in one go. Courtesy probably dictated that Liam should return the same question but instead he questioned Scott about being a pyromaniac. Scott didn’t answer immediately and Liam’s eyelids were already beginning to drop again. Liam considered moving back to his spot but got distracted by the remerging sound of Scott’s voice. “Fire scares me,” the werewolf whispered.

However before Liam could comment on how little sense that made, his energy had already left him. The last thing Liam remembered was feeling Scott’s startled jolt when the human absentmindedly pillowed his head on Scott’s shoulder. Followed by the amazing feel of Scott’s fingers gently running through Liam’s hair.

Everything went black after that.

~x~x~

Next morning Liam woke up with an epiphany. _‘These days were it. And that’s it…’_. Right there and then Liam decided that—even if the remainder of this trip amounted to nothing—he would at least try to make the most of it. He would forget all his problems and for once in his life let himself pretend to be a normal happy teenager like the friends he used to have inside the Dome. Liam would ask all the questions he wanted to ask and let his travel buddy get to know the real him. Liam would let himself enjoy every minute he had left with Scott. 

Most of all Liam would make sure that Scott remembers him. ~~Liam wanted to never be forgotten by Scott~~. As far as life goals went, Liam thought that one to be a decent one.

 _‘Jod,’_ just thinking about the possibility of experiencing what it was like to have a best friend was sending jitters down Liam’s spine. But first things first. He needed to get Scott to stop feeling uncomfortable around him. And right then Liam only had one weapon in his arsenal.

Breakfast.

Today had marked the second day in a row that he had woken up before Scott; so Liam took the opportunity to roast what was left of the salted herons that Scott had hunted yesterday. Yet even though Liam was doing his best to steer the smell of burning meat away from Scott, the werewolf still stirred awake before Liam was able to finish.

 **Panic**. That’s what Liam registered in Scott’s glowing eyes when Scott opened them. The werewolf haphazardly padded himself down until he saw Liam raising the lighter to him.

“Borrowed it,” Liam explained—just so Scott knew that the human wasn’t trying to steal it—but Liam might as well had said that he was hatched from a serpentes’ egg for all the attention Scott paid him. It was like Scott was still half-asleep or in a trance. “Scott?” Liam tried again. “You’re eyes are glowing,” he pointed out and that seemed to be what rooted Scott back to the real world. The werewolf’s expression was of mild confusion as he sniffed the air while somewhat unfocusedly staring at the fire. Then his whole demeanor brightened up as he shifted his gaze to Liam.

“You’re making breakfast?” Scott asked cheerfully and _‘jodding fuck why does my stomach has to do those strange flips every time he smiles at me like that?_.

~~Friends, friends. Think jodding friends. Only friends.~~

“I am,” Liam answered, trying and possibly failing to work his face muscles into what he hoped was the equivalent of a friendly smile. “And I might even be willing to share some with you if you iodinate our water. After the beans we ate last night I might as well kill my liver too.” And there; that sounded more natural coming from him.

Scott let out a low chuckle. “Purified water coming up!”

~x~x~

Breakfast went smoothly that morning—completely unlike the fiasco of yesterday. And when Scott got up to do his stretching exercises Liam joined him. Or at least attempted to until he lost his balance during the one-legged stance, falling on his rear. _‘Ouch’_.

“You okay?” Scott asked while trying to hold back his amused smile as he crouched down beside the blue-eyed teen. Liam rolled his eyes and called Scott a jodding nadir for laughing at a comrade’s pain. For a moment there Liam freaked about whether the tone of his voice came off as playful or not; and on whether he had offended Scott or not. _Making a conscious effort to be friendly was hard work_. Yet with the way Scott seemed to be mulling over the word Liam began to wonder if Scott even understood its meaning.

Heck, with the way Liam was always going off about Scott’s usage of obscure lingo, the human never once considered if from Scott’s perspective Liam was the one who talked weird. ~~But then again it’s not like anyone could fault Liam for not knowing Scott came from two millennias ago.~~

“You know,” started Scott, rubbing the side of his neck. “I never understood why the word ‘asshole’ went out of style. It’s a more direct insult than ‘nadir’, I think.”

“Why would anyone be bothered by being called an asshole?” Liam asked not quite getting Scott’s reasoning. “The asshole is an universal metaphor that even in the lowest lows one can find pleasure. While nadir means just that—that you are the lowest of the low.”

“Oh God,” Scott muttered as he hid his face behind his hands and— _‘jod was he actually embarrassed?’_ “Dicks then,” Scott said and Liam had to muffle a laugh. “What?” He asked—lowering his hands from his face when Liam didn’t immediately respond. Yet one look at the human’s face had Scott beaming like if he had won some huge victory. “Penis references stay a modern classic no matter the times!” Scott declared excitedly as he pumped his fist in the air.

Liam shook his head at the silliness. “You’re a dimcicle Scott.” But of course Scott just grinned at the remark while offering his hand to help Liam up. The teen however just stared at the extended hand with slight indecision before reaching to grab it only to hover a few centimeters from actually grasping it. “You’re not gonna run for the hills in absolute horror if I touch you, right?” Liam asked and immediately kicked himself. He meant for it to come out as teasing except his voice cracked and there was no way that didn’t come out sounding more vulnerable than what Liam intended. Unsurprisingly Scott withdrew his hand at the comment and seemed disheartened. “No, I didn’t mean-”

“It’s okay,” Scott interrupted, only offering a small smile. “It’s my fault. You don’t have to apologize for it, alright? I shouldn’t have ran like that. I’m sorry if I made you feel bad.”

Great. Not even an hour since Liam decided to put everything behind and just focused on being Scott’s friend and the teen was already screwing that up by pushing Scott away and making him feel guilty. _‘Just what’s wrong with me that I always fall back to the same routine?’_ But no. Liam promised himself that he would make an effort to start letting Scott in and that could only happen by being honest with him. And yeah, that meant admitting his hurt feelings.

“You kinda did,” Liam replied after a moment. “I mean I get that I’m not ideal boyfriend material—with me being a psychopath and all,” Liam said while ignoring how swiftly Scott rebuked that description. “But you could have at least let me down nicely instead of ignoring the whole thing altogether. It wasn’t easy letting myself trust someone enough to do that you know.” And being rejected _bytes_.

“I’m sorry,” Scott repeated and to his credit he did look like he was fighting some kind of internal battle with himself. “I know it’s not much of an excuse but I was… _really_ caught off guard by that. Honest. I never in a million years imagined you would do that and I, freaked? I mean, it’s you. Plus you’re a guy, like me! It never even crossed my mind and-”

“Wait!” Liam exclaimed stopping Scott’s rambling—something about what the werewolf just said triggering all kinds of alarms in Liam’s head because what the heck did Liam being a guy had to do with anything? Unless… _unless!_ “Don’t tell me you’re an **Edition Seven**?”

“Ah- a what?” Scott asked appearing genuinely confused.

“An _**Edition Seven**_!!” Liam stressed. “You know! Like in the fable! Don’t tell me you’re one of those? I thought they didn’t exist anymore,” Liam muttered the last part under his breath.

“Liam I’m not sure I get what you’re talking about. What’s an Edition Seven?”

“Oh jod of course!” How could Liam have been so horrendaly stupid? “You’re like ancient! Probably older than the story. I should have thought about that! I just, I just never entertained the thought that you could be one.”

“Liam!” Scott called—gripping the top of Liam’s left foot to get his attention. “What does Edition Seven mean?”

The teen swallowed in an attempt to calm his rattled nerves. “I- sorry! I mean, yeah, **Edition Seven** , that’s-” _‘Jod how do I even begin to explained it? I never had to before.’_ "An Edition Seven is someone who only exclusively has sex with someone of the opposite gender because- I don’t actually remember the reason but the gist of it is that they prefer to kill themselves rather than to admit attraction for the same gender.”

“Straight?” Scott mentioned and Liam instantly went rigid wondering if Scott spotted something scurrying behind them. Scott gave Liam a quick once-over before the werewolf started shaking his head. “No I didn’t mean straight as in ‘sit straight’, I meant straight as in ‘not gay’.”

Now it was Liam’s turn to be confused. “I, uh, don’t get it. What does an emotion have to do with a position?” They obviously were dealing with some sort of language/generation barrier here. But Liam didn’t think their current situation called for much jesting. “Scott I normally welcome your random retro slang, I find it magma even, but now is _not_ the time. I’m trying to explain to you a serious issue here!”

“I’m not dodging the issue,” Scott argued getting a little exasperated now. “I’m trying to explain- HETEROSEXUAL!!!”

“Hetero- yeah that!!” Liam affirmed pointing at Scott. “An Edition Seven is someone who thinks it’s only right to be exclusively hetero,” Liam stated happy to have finally found a word they both understood. Of course anxiety rapidly replaced his previous elation and left Liam chewing the inside of his cheeks. “Is that- is that what you are?” Liam questioned warily. ~~Don’t answer~~

“Well I consider myself one but it’s not like I think it isn’t right to be with whomever you want to be. I even see the appeal if I’m honest. It doesn’t bother me.”

“But?”

“I never have been attracted to another guy before,” Scott confessed giving Liam an awkward smile. “It’s not, it’s not like it’s a choice.”

“But it is!” Liam argued. “Your choice of partner is completely up to you. It’s been like that for everyone for as long as I can remember.”

Scott only shook his head. “That might be true for you and everyone else after everybody became immune via DNA modification and STDs became a thing of the past; but it’s not the same for me,” he said, calmly. “For me attraction is not, it’s not a choice. It’s in my genes. It’s the way I was born.”

“Well your genes are defective! They are screwed up just like your jaw!”

“I ah… I’m sorry.” 

“No I, I didn’t mean that.” _‘Please don’t look sad’_. “I-I like your jaw. I think it’s perfect.” And Liam may have blushed a little at that but it was worth it if it removed the frown on Scott’s face. “It just sucks that your genes are prehistoric is all.” Liam was being petty—a big horrenda baby—and he was well aware of that. Because so what if Scott didn’t like guys? Liam already knew he had no chance with Scott to begin with. Scott was like a fantasy. Too good to be true. And Liam… was not.

“If it means anything I wish my genes had evolved also,” Scott revealed but at this point he might just been trying to pacify Liam. “It would have at least made keeping up with the times easier. Like the fact that now apparently everyone’s shoulders are flexible enough to wash their own backs.”

Without willing himself to, Liam laughed easily at Scott’s comment. Guess Scott just had that effect on the teen. “You can’t wash your own back?”

“Not without straining. No,” he said, smile crooked. And now that Liam understood that with Scott being the way he was he couldn’t have gotten with any of Liam’s previous versions—it was like a weight had been lifted from him. Liam wasn’t inferior to Ian or Milan or Dylan or whoever else. None of them had a chance with Scott either. Now all Liam had to worry about was being the best possible friend Scott ever had—and then Liam would win. “Hand?” Scott offered—stretching his hand toward Liam again. This time the human didn’t hesitate to grab it. 

~x~x~

Liam felt really energized that morning and told Scott that they should make haste to their destination. As the duo collected their stuff Liam also questioned how would they know when they made it to Sacramento as Liam had never been that far west before. Scott reassured that he would know—that if they moved fast with no stops except for sleep they should make it there in nine days tops. “Plenty of time,” Scott had said and Liam chose not to comment on that. There was no reason for the both of them to make themselves sick with worry over this. Scott may not like Liam the way the latter wanted the former, but Scott obviously cared enough about Liam. So the teen saw nothing wrong with wanting to spare Scott the heartache for as long as it was possible.

Scott though… he could sense there was something wrong with Liam. Even though Liam was acting fresh and trying his best to keep up with the werewolf’s pace, Scott would furrow his eyebrows at the teen every so often when he thought Liam wasn’t looking. Liam couldn’t help wondering how long it would take Scott to put it all together at this rate. Liam couldn’t afford to let that happen so soon so he opened his mouth to distract the werewolf but Scott beat him to the punch.

“You’re limping,” Scott stated, brown eyes staring down at Liam’s feet—or more specifically Liam’s right leg. “I didn’t notice yesterday because I was walking ahead of you, but you are.”

 _‘Thank the Shepherd that’s the only thing he noticed’_. ~~Also Liam needed to find a new saying because he couldn’t keep mentally thanking a deity that was flesh and bone and walking right next to him~~. Liam stopped to glance down at his leg and sighed. “It’s my ankle,” Liam said. “It’s banged up.” This was kind of true since it started throbbing within the first 5 minutes of walking on it. However the discomfort wasn’t enough to actually impede Liam from trotting forward—that’s why he didn’t bring any attention to it—but it sure wasn’t making it easier on him either. “It’s not really slowing me down. You don’t have to worry.”

“Since when?” Scott asked obviously not as ready to drop the issue. He didn’t give time to answer though as he was already backing away while rolling up his sleeves. “I can fix that,” was all he gave as an explanation _‘and jod no’_.

“You’re not carrying me,” Liam interjected hastily—slightly flushing at the thought of Scott manhandling him like the werewolf had done the first time they met.

Scott laughed quietly at that. “Wasn’t planning to,” he assured with a mirth in his eyes that Liam wasn’t too keen to trust. “Come, sit down with me,” he instructed while sitting crossed-legged on the ground and motioning for Liam to do the same. Liam followed Scott’s direction as calmly as he could until Scott reached for Liam’s damaged leg, used it to drag Liam closer, and propped it on Scott’s lap. “Is this one isn’t it?”

“What are you doing?” Liam questioned instead because for a moment there it looked like Scott was about to give Liam a foot-massage and the human didn’t trust in his ability to stop himself from getting flustered if such scenario was the case. ~~The heat of Scott’s touch on Liam’s skin would be enough to do the latter in~~.

“Relax,” Scott said, firmly keeping Liam’s leg in place while Scott’s fingers rubbed Liam’s ankle. “Now don’t freak out on me but do you remember when I told you that I’ve been known by many names throughout the years?” he whispered conspiratorially. Liam nodded and Scott’s eyes dropped to the ankle again—his touch more hesitant now. “Don’t freak out,” Scott mumbled again as the veins in his right arm turned black right in front of Liam’s eyes.

It only lasted a moment but it was enough to expel all air from Liam’s lungs. “There’s a Spanish folklore called **El Brujo Blanco** , the white mage,” Scott mentioned—not lifting his gaze from Liam’s ankle. “It’s one of my favorite titles actually. Basically it’s a Spanish tale parents used to tell their children to teach them not to be selfish and to help people in need. Unfortunately the story was then altered and made into a crappy vampiric love story for a movie and was promptly forgotten,” Scott lamented with a shake of his head. “Fuck vampires.”

When Liam didn’t readily say anything Scott tapped the former’s leg with two of his fingers. “So how does the ankle feel?”

Remembering his leg again Liam pulled it back from Scott’s lap and was surprised when it didn’t hurt anymore. Scott watched Liam as the human stood up and tested his foot by stomping the ground a few times. “How?”

“Werewolf magic,” Scott explained without missing a beat. He was smiling when Liam locked eyes with him again—no doubt drinking up the amazement on Liam’s face. “At first I could only use it to relieve someone’s physical pain. But after centauries of practice I can finally use it to mend small wounds and lacerations. It’s not much,” Scott said with a small shrug. “But I like to believe that every little bit I can do to help matters.”

“And people thought you were a monster?” Liam asked in wonder because whoa, this was beyond magma. _‘Really’_ , the more Liam learned about Scott the more absurd the idea of anyone being scared of him seemed. “This is flaming, are you kidding me?!” Liam exclaimed as he tried for a backflip and succeeded his landing without hurting anything. “Totally magma!”

When Liam looked back at Scott, the werewolf had another one of those reminiscing smiles on his face of which Liam couldn’t stop himself from pointing out. “What?” Liam asked.

“Nothing.”

“Come on, tell me,” Liam insisted. “Unless it’s another one of those ‘in my days’ speeches? You don’t have to tell me then.”

Scott laughed and _‘success’_ he understood that Liam was only joking around! “Well ‘in my days’,” Scott started off just to indulge Liam, “when we liked something we used to say that something was cool.”

“Why would you describe something magma as cold?”

“Not cold, _cool_ ,” Scott explained but at Liam’s confused face Scott quickly gave up on it. “You know what, forget about it,” he said much to Liam’s disappointment. The blue-eyed brunet really liked it when Scott shared that kind of trivia and Liam honestly wanted to know more. But Scott’s expression changed to one that was more serious so Liam kept the questions to himself. “So I take it by your reaction to my abilities that you won’t be running for the hills in absolute horror anytime soon, right?” Scott asked—mimicking Liam’s same words from before—as Scott slowly got up on his feet. The brown-eyed brunet hid his hands behind himself in a reserved manner—being so careful in his stance—and doing his best to project himself as harmless. And Liam immediately understood.

The thought that Liam wanted to stay with Scott regardless of anything hadn’t yet quite settled in Scott’s brain. He still had no idea that all Liam wanted for himself was for his last cognizant thought to be about their time together. _‘About Scott’s smile’_. Wasn’t Scott aware how hard he was not to fall for? Even those annoying kids instantly warmed up to him.

~~_‘I did.’_~~

“That depends,” Liam smirked while bumping shoulders with Scott— _‘because that’s a thing right? I didn’t just look completely unmagma by doing that did I?’_ —nonverbally motioning for them to continue nomading forward. “What else can werewolves do?”

~x~x~

After that everything was different. Scott talked. He talked a lot. It was like someone had locked away his voice and only now he found the key. Their days’ travels went by with Scott telling Liam all sorts of stories and anecdotes from experiences roaming the world. And Liam asked questions, _a lot of questions_ , because Scott had been to places and seen things Liam had never imagined were possible. And Scott… his voice was definitely getting tired if that occasional rasp that escaped him was any indication—but with Liam actually paying attention and absorbing everything he said—Scott just didn’t seem to care if he lost his voice.

He looked so happy and ecstatic just by something so simple as having someone to freely converse with—someone like Liam—that it became increasingly impossible for Liam’s facial muscles to stave off the smile on his face. A chirpy Scott was simply a constant onslaught of joy to the soul. There was no fending off Scott’s metaphorical shine.

 ~~Was this what starving for company felt like?~~ It got Liam to wonder just how often had Scott been able to speak this freely. If Scott’s accounts were to be trusted, then Liam could only interpret that Scott probably hasn’t spoken like this since that girl he loved, the kitsune—and that was like a millennia ago.

Scott couldn’t be himself with just anyone could he? Not even with Liam’s previous lives. _‘Oh jod there I go again making myself feel more special than I am.’_ Was it strange that Liam never used to do that before Scott crashed into his life?

Whatever. If anything Scott proved to be a great distraction. The best distraction! Being around him silenced everything else. Four days in and Liam still didn’t tire of having Scott’s voice circulating around his head.

Right now—while they stopped to snack on some bluefin crustomi Liam helped to catch—they were back to discussing one of Liam’s most favorites topics ever since he found out about it. **Werewolves!** So far Liam has learned all the weaknesses attributed to typical werewolves—Scott was always spry about singling himself out as atypical—and the type of power the Moon held on them depending of its phase. Liam also learned about how werewolves are taught control by the use of ‘anchors’. Scott explained it as concentrating on that someone or something special and meaningful, and using it to remind yourself of your humanity.

When Liam asked Scott what his anchor was Scott absentmindedly traced his armbands tattoo and gave this forlorn smile that was hard to interpret. He answered that he was way past the stage of needing one. Liam found that he didn’t quite like those brief moments when Scott alluded to his lack of mortality as if it somehow proved his lack of humanity. To Liam, Scott had more humanity in him than the majority of nadirs Liam met in his short life. Including Liam himself.

But then they got to the part about the benefits of being a werewolf and Liam couldn’t hold back his disbelief. “No way you can do that!” Liam exclaimed half amazed half mortified. “You mean to tell me that all this time you could tell whether I was lying or not? That’s not fair!”

“Only when I paid attention to your heartbeat,” Scott chuckled. 

“And how often do you do that?”

“All the time?” Scott said wiggling his eyebrows and dodge-rolling when Liam tried to punch him in the arm. “Hey in my defense it’s not like there’s anything else to listen to,” he argued. “And it’s not like you lie to me anyways,” Scott commented with a shrug. “You just typically avoid telling me what’s really going on, is all.”

“Just like you do,” Liam countered, giving Scott a satisfied smirk when the werewolf failed to immediately retaliate.

Scott in turn breathed out another chuckle as he shook his head before returning Liam’s smirk “Like me,” Scott admitted. “And here I thought I had mastered the art of getting away with talking without saying anything. I blame the lack of an apt challenger for the deterioration of my skills.”

“Haha Scott, drop it. I’m not that smart,” Liam deflected—somehow still not used to all the praise Scott randomly threw his way. _‘Does he want me to fall harder for him or not? So unfair’_.

“Not lying,” Scott countered, throwing the shell of the crustomi he just finished—or _blue shrimps_ as he called them—next to the accumulating pile before whipping his mouth with the back of his hand only to smear some of its juices across his scruff. They both needed a shave.

“Good thing I can’t tell otherwise, right?”

Scott pursed his lips as if considering Liam’s argument but apparently the werewolf gave up on countering it because he bowed his head and blew air out. Liam did the same.

Really, that suited Liam fine. It’s not like Liam said all these things just to get Scott to contradict him. Liam wasn’t expecting Scott to suddenly be able to name all of Liam’s good qualities just because Liam could list Scott’s. ~~Shut up, don’t judge.~~

“When I was your age I didn’t know what I was doing most of the time,” Scott suddenly said and Liam lifted his head to see Scott absentmindedly pulling on the dried weeds on the cracked ground. Scott said that this used to be a road—a _highway_ he called it—and that’s why he knew they were heading in the right direction. Yet it skill kinda amazed Liam how little pasture grew on there considering they weren’t all too far from a river. _Sorry, getting sidetracked._ “To be honest I still don’t know why I do most things half the time,” Scott admitted. “Never had much believe in myself, you see. Even with people constantly telling me how great I was.”

‘ _But you ARE great,_ ’ Liam thought in his head. “You seem to be doing well if you ask me,” Liam said instead.

Scott gave one of those barely-there smiles before closing his fingers around a few blades of grass—but not pulling on them. “Seems that way doesn’t it?” Scott mumbled before retrieving his hands and wiping them on his pants before meeting Liam’s gaze unwaveringly. “My werewolf powers are basically responsible in their entirety for getting me here today. Before them I was a nobody. No one thought I was worth anything. I wasn’t smart; nobody wanted to date me; and I had asthma so gripping that I could hardly play sports. I was so bad at it that Coach always used to pick me as target practice for the other students. I only ever had one friend and he got me into all kinds of trouble but I didn’t mind it because he was my friend—I’d follow him anywhere.”

“Why are you telling me all this?” Liam asked—sounding winded even though he hadn’t been the one speaking. “Is this because I said I wasn’t smart?”

Scott nodded and continued. “I was never the one who came up with the plans. I wasn’t Batman; I was the sidekick. But then I got bitten by a werewolf and suddenly I became someone. I literally had to be transformed into something else for people to see me, for opportunities to open up, and for me to matter enough to make a difference.” Liam wanted to say something to rebuke that but Scott didn’t let him interrupt. “You aren’t like I was Liam. Neither you nor any of your past lives ever needed to have a curse placed on them to stand out. You’re plenty strong and smart just as you are. Heck you even managed to travel with me comatose on your back and were able to fool me once without me picking up on it until too late. You’re plenty capable Liam. I just need you to not doubt that.”

Jod Liam felt like his throat was closing up. And it wasn’t just because Scott was doing his best to boost up Liam’s self-confidence—although to Liam that meant more than words could describe—but because Scott probably did believe that someone as nice to people as Scott was could ever be a nobody. Liam struggled to get anything out, _anything_ , and almost face-palmed when the first thing that came out was “Werewolves can’t have asthma?”

But then Scott laughed—a good hardy laugh!—that made his eyes tear a little. “Yes Liam,” Scott said with a shake of his head and smile present. “The bite cures all physical illnesses the person might have had as a human. Including lung problems as was my case in particular. It’s one of its perks.”

 _‘All physical illnesses.’_ That was the phrase that stuck with Liam. The gears in Liam’s head spun around it and before Liam could stop himself the words were already leaving his mouth. “Can the bite heal mental illnesses too?”

It was like if Liam had pressed the mute button with the way the laughter left Scott’s voice then. Scott looked at Liam like if Scott knew why Liam was asking and of course he did. It’s not like Liam went to great pains to hide his affliction—it was basically the whole reason why they were traveling together after all. Liam just didn’t like the fact that Scott’s answer wasn’t instant. That never boded well.

“Mental illnesses are tricky,” Scott voiced after much deliberation. “I’ve seen the bite cure epilepsy before so it’s not exactly beyond the realm of possibilities,” he revealed and Liam tried to squash the rise of hope that was surging inside because there was always a ‘but’ tagged along with this type of sentences and Liam simply knew that this time wouldn’t be the exception. “But when it comes to behavioral illnesses… I can’t say I’ve seen any success. Sorry.”

And was that it? Was that the big ‘but’? That there’s a chance that Liam’s ASPD will be left untreated? If that was all then _‘jod’_ , if becoming a monster and hiding from the world was all Liam had to do to be cured from his schizophrenia then sign him up! Liam did that anyways! “Can any werewolf’s bite be enough to turn me?” Liam questioned without giving it any further consideration.

Liam don’t know if it was the undisguised eagerness in his voice or the question itself that caused Scott's eyes to widen, but the werewolf was sure taken aback either way. In fact Scott looked so alarmed with the idea that it almost terrified Liam.

“Scott?” Liam asked when Scott wasn’t forthcoming with the answer.

“I- I’m sorry,” Scott tried apologizing but his voice seemed to be stuck in his throat. He gulped it down before trying to speak again. But then he closed his eyes and shook his head again. He looked like he was in incredible pain. “Not all werewolves can turn their victims,” Scott finally explained with what appeared to be great difficulty. “There are three types of werewolves. Alphas, Betas and Omegas. Alphas are the most powerful category of werewolves and only their bite can create new werewolves.”

 _‘Most powerful. Scott always singling himself out as being above other werewolves. If those two things had any relation to one another then that meant-’_ “You’re an Alpha aren’t you?” Liam asked with hushed reverence. The human couldn’t believe the answer to all his problems was sitting next to him all along. “Why didn’t you tell me?” Liam questioned and yeah, it might have come off a little hurt but could you blame him? Scott had a remedy for Liam’s problems all along and Scott never bothered to give Liam the option? Weren’t they friends? Wasn’t that something Scott should had mentioned before like _Hey I’m a werewolf, are you into biting your sickness away?_

“It’s not that simple Liam,” Scott said a little forcefully—opening his glowing purple eyes to the human. But instead of looking angry, Scott’s glowing eyes only accentuated how distressed this conversation was making him. “The bite only has a 50/50 chance of working plus even then it might not cure anything. And if the bite doesn’t take- Liam there’s no guarantee that you’ll survive it,” Scott said—eyes turning back to brown—imploring Liam to accept something that the teen just couldn’t.

“But it might work,” Liam stated pointedly not letting himself be deterred and deliberately not looking into Scott’s eyes for more than he had to. “It’s my choice anyways and you said it yourself, I’m smart enough to make my own decisions,” Liam argued throwing Scott’s compliments back to his face.

Scott didn’t seem to have an argument to rebuff his blue-eyed companion. Scott’s hands just went back to playing with the blades of grass as he bowed his head. “I can’t do that,” Scott ultimately said—tone disturbingly calm—and kept on before Liam could dispute it. “Alphas’ eyes glow red. Mine no longer do that. And even if I still could I-” he started to say but stopped when his voice got a little shaky. “I can’t.”

 _Can’t_. That’s what he actually said even though Liam heard - _won’t_ \- and Liam couldn’t comprehend it. As much as Liam tried to wrap his head around it the teen couldn’t figure out why the werewolf was being so reluctant with this? Scott’s hesitation surprised Liam. Scott wasn’t- Scott was not even putting it up to discussion! He’s flat out refusing to help. _‘Why?’_

At Scott’s continued silence Liam stood up and began pacing around with discontented arm movements. Scott didn’t spare the teen a glance and somehow that frustrated Liam further. This didn’t fit Scott’s personality at all! Until now Scott had always been willing to help and never declined anything without first giving Liam a valid reason and an alternative. The only time Scott had ever completely shut Liam out was when Scott was leading up to what had happened to his dead friends which was something Liam could understand becau-

Wait…

Liam stopped pacing and looked down at Scott—realization widening the teen’s face and chilling his spine. Something in the rhythm of his heart must have alerted Scott because the dark-haired brunet immediately stilled his hands and stared Liam’s way. It was so obvious now.

“You bit me before,” Liam muttered and as it left his lips everything started to make sense. “You did, didn’t you?” Liam stated more than asked. “One of my previous lives,”—and the guilt written all over Scott’s face at the accusation might as well been his confession. It disquieted Liam. “Say something!” the teen demanded—spreading his arms apart in a loud gesture.

Scott winced at the tone but didn’t back away from Liam. Instead Scott closed his eyes so tightly that small wrinkles appeared at their edges before addressing the human in an entirely composed manner. “The first time I met you, back when I was still mortal, we went to the same school and you had I.E.D.,” Scott said—tone firm and eyes decisively shut. “I.E.D. stands for ‘intermittent explosive disorder’ that made you have random bursts of anger and severely damaged your self esteem.” Scott opened his eyes then and Liam immediately wished the werewolf had kept them closed just so Liam didn’t have to see the apprehension in them. “You were barely eighteen when I first lost you. The bite didn’t take your illness away. It took away your future.”

“Then…” Liam started, wetting his lips and swallowing before being able to continue.

“ _I_ took away your future Liam,” Scott mumbled under his breath before the teen could say anything. Scott covered the upper half of his face with his right hand—hiding his eyes—and continued. “It’s _my_ fault you died. I should have never bitten you. It’s my fault,” he repeated much to Liam’s stunned disbelief. “My fault.”

Here was Scott practically doing his best not to break in front of Liam and all Liam could do was stand there and gawk at him like an idiot. Scott inhaled quite deeply, held it in, and then let it out while dropping his hand. His eyes—although red-rimmed—held Liam’s steady. It seemed that swift moment was all Scott needed to collect himself; but somehow Liam couldn’t shake the suspicion that that was yet another thing that was going to keep Scott up at night.

And Liam? Well let’s just say he finally got it. “You always made sure that I make it past my 18th birthday,” Liam said while slowly realizing the implications of his words. “Before. After I found out about you, after I found out about me. You said that you always waited until I was eighteen to introduced yourself to all my previous lives. Called it a habit even. I didn’t think much of that when you first said it but now I think I get it,” Liam said while walking the short distance to where Scott was sitting before crouching in front of him. Liam waited until Scott’s brown eyes met the teen’s searching blue gaze. Then Liam punched Scott in the face.

That seemed to wake him and ~~_‘Jodding fuck I think I broke my wrist!’_~~. “Liam?” Scott asked all confused while palming his bruised cheek. Liam clutched his sore wrist with his other hand and glared at Scott.

“The reason you always wait until I’m eighteen is because you want to make sure I make it past it, right?!” Liam shouted at Scott—not even bothering to pretend that his feelings weren’t hurt. Scott wanted to make sure Liam had a future. _That’s_ why he always sought Liam out every time. Not because of some ‘friendship’, but because of guilt! Because Scott felt indebted to the life he took! “Jod it Scott! Do you even like being around me!” Liam yelled—going for another punch, one which Scott easily caught.

Scott was so jodding infuriating! And here Liam had been fantasizing of how alone Scott felt without his company when the reality of it was that Liam was just another chore to the dark-haired brunet!

“I hate you!” Liam shouted and struggled to free his hand from Scott’s grip until all of the sudden Liam was being enveloped in another one of Scott’s hugs. _‘They weren’t fair!’_ Liam struggled against Scott only for a few more moments before giving up and flopping against the werewolf. “I still hate you,” Liam mumbled against Scott’s shirt even as the teen encircled his arms around Scott’s neck and pretended not to hear Scott inhaling his scent.

“I’m sorry,” Scott replied softly—left hand rubbing up and down Liam’s back in a soothing manner. “I didn’t mean to imply that I’m only with you out of duty. Remember when I told you that being able to spend time with you was what kept me going? I meant what I said then Liam. You’re literally the highlight of my year.” And the strange part was that Liam did remember that. How could he not? Scott had called him his hope and then Liam kissed him. Not exactly something one easily gets over.

 _‘Jod I just made a jodtard out of myself, didn’t I?’_ Now Liam was too ashamed to show his face. “I get it,” Liam mumbled against Scott’s shoulder while squeezing the werewolf tighter against him. ~~Liam tried not to let his body react to when he felt Scott’s fingers playing with his hair again.~~ Neither did Liam comment when the pain on his wrist magically ebbed away. “I was just mad at myself and took it out on you. It happens.”

“No I get it,” whispered Scott. “It’s my fault for getting your hopes up in the first place. I shouldn’t have bragged about my werewolf powers.”

“You were just trying to cheer me up so technically it is my fault,” Liam argued while closing his eyes and wondering how long he could get away with snuggling like this against Scott before it started to get weird. “And by the way I don’t believe for a second that you were a nobody before the bite. You’re the most caring person I know—powers or not. And I bet you anything that that didn’t come from being a werewolf.”

Liam heard Scott laughed quietly at that and it honestly was the best sound Liam has heard in his life. Liam wanted to replicate it forever and ever. “You really think that highly of me don’t you?” Scott asked but Liam didn’t bother to answer the obvious—content as Liam was in his position. “Don’t worry Liam. Even if I can’t offer you the bite, I can still get you your pills. Sacramento is only 5 days away and you don’t have to take your last pill for 2 more days. You’ll see. Everything will turn out all right. I promise.”

His words brought a strange comfort to Liam. And when Liam opened his eyes and saw nothing but burning corpses floating all around them, Liam wished that he could have the same positive outlook as Scott. Liam dreaded the time when blinking away his hallucinations would seize to work.

~x~x~

“So you’re saying that Batman would go all primate on anyone that hurt Robin but still wouldn’t go for the kill?” Liam asked that night while stargazing together with Scott by the fire. Scott had been telling Liam about these things called comic books that were around in the 21st century, specifically the ones involving the character of Batman since Liam knew nothing of him. Apparently though, Scott didn’t really know much either since he kept backtracking every few sentences because he kept mixing up superheroes and such.

“He never did,” Scott replied confidently—for about three seconds at least. “Maybe… I don’t actually remember really. Actually most of the information I know about Batman is based on what my best friend used to tell me. I never actually picked up a comic for myself,” he admitted distractedly. “Kinda regret that now if I’m being honest.”

Liam hmm-ed to indicate his understanding but kept his eyes on the stars in the sky. With his hands intertwined lazily above his chest, Scott laying down beside him doing the same, and the cackling of the fire—Liam felt so incredibly relaxed that all worries seemed to evaporate from him.

Tonight was the night of a full moon; and after Liam got Scott to admit that he never slept soundly during them, Liam decided that—just for tonight—they should pull an all-nighter. Or at least until the teen nodded off. Of course Liam was looking to put off sleep for as long as it was possible.

“Well I’m glad you weren’t a Batman then,” Liam commented just so their string of conversation wouldn’t end. “I mean how can anyone feel safe around someone who left all his enemies alive? Come on, they were villains, right? They were just going to hurt more people for fun. No wonder the Robins went independent and got out of there as soon as they could. If you ask me they were the smart ones.”

Liam kinda meant that as an indirect compliment toward Scott so the teen was a little disappointed when it was met with complete silence. Liam turned his head to Scott’s direction and saw Scott’s hands inattentively fiddling with the lighter again. His expression was completely blank however. “Scott?”

At the sound of his name the werewolf blinked and turned his head toward Liam as well. “Sorry,” Scott apologized with a sheepish smile. “I just… didn’t use to kill either. Not even in self-defense… It’s kinda how I became an Alpha in the first place,” he revealed before facing away to stare at the sky again. “That and the color of my eyes are two of the reasons why I don’t know if I’m considered an Alpha anymore.”

‘ _Was that why your Banshee friend died?_ ’ was the first question that popped into Liam’s head. Yet that sounded too insensitive to say out loud. ‘ _What made you change your attitude toward killing?_ ’ was the second question that popped in. But much like the first one, this felt like Liam was asking Scott to relive the moment he took his first life and somehow Liam doubted Scott would be very forthcoming with that information. So in the end Liam went with the third option instead. 

“Tell me about Sacramento,” Liam asked changing the subject altogether while shifting to gaze at the stars again. “You roamed the world many times over, right? I bet you been there before.”

Liam didn’t quite see it but he felt it when Scott smiled. ~~Liam felt so horrenda proud of himself it was verging on ridiculous~~. “Sacramento is the capital of what used to be the State of California,” Scott explained. Thankfully Liam knew enough about Norte Americana’s history to understand what Scott meant by States. “There’s not a single supernatural creature in the world that wouldn’t be able to find their way to California,” Scott explained. “That’s why I know we are going in the right direction.”

“How come?”

“Well,” Scott started but seemed to need a moment to pick his words. “There’s this other place in California, called Beacon Hills. I’m not even sure if anything is still there but the land itself has this strange aura that supernatural creatures like me can feel. It is meant to attract us there like a, like a-”

“Like a beacon?”

“Yeah, that,” Scott assented. “It was basically a trap for the unnatural. Thankfully though that’s not where we are heading so we don’t have to worry about the place trying to pull me in,” Scott reassured.

“But have you ever?” Liam asked. “Been to Beacon Hills I mean?” he clarified. “You kind of made it sound like you’ve been.”

“Probably because I was born there,” Scott replied solemnly, which made Liam turn his head toward Scott’s direction again. Scott however was too lost in thought to notice Liam. “I was 24 when I was forced to run away from there. 24 when me being there put the place in more danger than I could protect it from. 24 when another Alpha forbade me from ever setting foot in there again. Haven’t gone back since.”

_‘His hometown is in California…’_

Liam didn’t ask Scott to elaborate more than that. The werewolf had already opened up to Liam more than the teen expected Scott would. _To talk about one’s home?_. That’s something that even Liam wasn’t ready to do. That’s why he didn’t have to ask Scott if he ever thought about going back there to see how much it changed. Because of course Scott did. Liam thought about that a lot himself except Liam couldn’t go back to his birthplace even if he wanted to.

Everyone who knew about Scott in his hometown was probably long dead. Technically there shouldn’t be anything impeding Scott from visiting. No one there would recognize him—in fact they didn’t know if people even lived there anymore in the first place. For all they knew the place could be deserted. But then again it probably couldn’t be easy to return home and see that everything you remember was no longer there. So Liam decided not to push the issue.

Instead Liam decided to concentrate on something that’s been bothering him since this afternoon.

“You need to shave,” Liam told Scott flat out—and tried not to laugh at Scott’s miffed expression. ~~He failed~~. Scott felt up his jaw line with his right hand as he slowly sat up and frowned.

“Is not that bad, is it?” Scott asked as Liam sat up also.

“It is if food gets caught in your stubble when you eat. And let me tell you that that’s not exactly a pretty sight to witness,” Liam said while crawling the small distance to Scott’s duffle bag in search of the Fashala. Scott argued that he didn’t have a mirror and hence wouldn’t be able to shave anyways but Liam countered it by saying that he’ll do it for him. That seemed to shut Scott up quickly.

Liam’s hand touched something metal but when he pulled it out all he saw was blood and a beating heart in his grasp. “Liam?” Scott asked, making Liam blink–the action transforming the organ in his hand into the Fashala he was looking for.

“Sorry, got distracted,” Liam replied as he stood up with the shaving-laser in hand and made his way back to the werewolf. Scott’s eyes seemed worried as Liam approached but changed to apprehensive when Liam knelt in front of him. The teen raised a questioning eyebrow at Scott. “You’re not actually worried that I’m going to try molesting you while I shave you, are you?”

“What? No…” Scott said stretching the last word. Liam gave him an unconvinced look and Scott sighed and offered Liam an apologetic smile. “I’m sorry. It’s just that you make my pulse rise. No wait. That actually didn’t sound any matter. What I meant to say was that I um- You know what forget it. Let me start over,” he said while Liam still remained unimpressed. Scott sucked his lower lip in before trying again. “Will you please help me keep food from getting stuck on my face?” he said at last.

“Gladly,” Liam responded as he uncapped the laser and motioned for Scott to raise his chin. “And while I’m at it you can tell me all about how boring the other twelve Liams you met were in comparison to me. Sounds good?” Liam asked as he decided to start shaving from Scott’s neck up. Liam pretended that his heart didn’t just skip a beat when he saw the mirth come back to Scott’s eyes.

“You really want to know that badly huh,” Scott smiled and Liam responded by turning Scott’s face to the side with the pretext of starting on that side after Liam finished up Scott’s neck. Liam felt Scott swallowing his chuckle. “Not much to say really,” Scott started. “Physically you all pretty much look the same. Though the fourth time I met you your hair was so long it reached your knees; and with the trend of ocular alterations your eyes haven’t been blue since the sixth time I met you. I ah, I _missed_ them being blue. That’s actually the first thing I noticed about you when we met at the bandit’s hideout.”

“Hence the nickname ‘Blue Eyes’,” Liam contributed—surprisingly having fun revisiting what at the time felt like a source for aggravation in the company of ‘Bomberman’.

“Yeah…” Scott replied with a far-off look on his face. “The third time I met you probably had the most drastic difference though. You were on so much growth supplements that you actually ended up being way taller than me. It was unreal.”

“Really?” Liam asked distractedly as he turned Scott’s face the other way.

“Truly,” Scott affirmed—the hint of a smile on his lips. “Kira was obsessed with that version of you,” he said, grimacing when he belatedly realized what he just spouted. “Um ah, Kira was the friend I told about before. The kitsune.”

“The time-trickster,” Liam supplied while trying to pretend like the fact that Scott was finally opening up about his friends wasn’t a big deal. ~~_‘It was a HUGE deal are you kidding me?! I finally got a name! And not only of a friend but of the girl he loved! Kira!’_~~ “And what about you?” Liam asked going for indifferent. “Did you also like that version of me?”

Scott started to shake his head but Liam stopped him before his face got burned away with the laser. “Not really,” Scott mumbled when his head motions were no longer his to dictate. “Honestly I kinda prefer it when you’re shorter than me, sorry.”

“So you like to feel like you’re on top then?” Liam questioned.

“It probably sounds awfully selfish of me to say it like that but, _I guess_?”

This was too good to pass up. “No I understand. So basically what you’re saying is that right now I’m the perfect size for you, right?”

Scott chuckled at that. “Yeah, I guess I kinda am,” he said until he noticed Liam’s smirk and covered his eyes in shame. “I didn’t– mean it to come out that perverse,” Scott rectified.

“It’s alright,” Liam pacified. Seriously toying with Scott might be his new favorite hobby. “I did,” Liam said with a grin. Scott sucked both his lips in and Liam took the opportunity to shave Scott above the lip. And just like that he was finished. Liam sat back on his feet and basked in his work. “You must have had a tough time dealing with all the other versions of me trying to be all over you huh?”

“Actually, the relationships I have had with each and every version of you are never quite the same,” Scott began, capturing Liam’s attention. “Yeah, you _all_ somewhat have the same type of personality but we never really connected over the same things. They are all _you_ but they’re still unique— _standalones_. I mean I loved being around each one of them just the same, but some of them—more than others—stand so noticeably apart that’s it’s hard to ignore,” Scott rushed out as if he was working himself up to something that he himself didn’t even know. It was kinda amazing to watch how the words formulated on Scott’s face before he said them. “Like you, actually.”

“Me?” Liam questioned, a little taken aback with what Scott professed. Don’t get Liam wrong, _that_ was everything he wanted to hear but- “What’s so different about me now?”

Scott’s brown eyes shifted to his own hands which were busy knocking on the ground—a sign that of nervousness—before landing on Liam’s blue eyes again. “For one thing you sure never tried to kiss me before.”

Liam stared at Scott in silence for a moment until the implications of what the werewolf just said finally hit him. “For serious?! There’s no way!” Liam exclaimed in mortification as Scott simply shrugged his answer. “Grat feces on a stick. No, there’s no way I was never into you- that’s not possible- I refuse to believe it!”

A lopsided grin appeared on Scott’s face as he stared at Liam fondly even though the human was clearly in the middle of convulsing out here. “I mean, if I’m being honest, they _did_ have a tendency of being clingy. But never beyond anything platonic,” Scott said before his expression turned more serious. “You sorta pulled the rug right under me and knocked me over when you kissed me. Never saw it coming.” And then his expression got sad. “I really am sorry for making you feel bad by freaking out like that. I guess I was just too caught up basing our friendship on past lives that I never stopped to consider what was really building up between us.”

“So that’s it?” Liam remarked with a dash of disillusionment mingled in his tone. “I’m special because I don’t mind dick? That doesn’t sound very praiseworthy to me.”

“No it’s not just that,” Scott refuted adamantly. “That’s, that’s not even the important part—not what sets you apart.”

“Then what is?” Liam heckled.

“Do you believe me, Liam, when I tell you all about being a werewolf and having met you multiple times before?” Scott questioned authoritatively. “Do you believe that?”

“I guess but-”

“No Liam,” Scott cut in without faltering. “Yes or No, I need to hear you say it.”

“…Yes.”

Scott raised his right hand and waved it between them before dropping it again. “That’s it,” Scott said with a broken-up finality. His eyes bore into Liam’s and the teen could feel Scott’s every emotion as if it was Liam’s own. “You aren’t lying,” Scott declared. “That’s what’s different.” Scott took another deep breath before continuing. “None of the others ever believed me when I remarked on it. So I never risked it. I, I haven’t been able to be honest with any of you since- well since the first one. And something tells me that millions of years from now when the planet is destroyed and I’m just floating endlessly in space until I’m abducted by aliens or something equally ridiculous—I’m still not going to be over you. _You_. And maybe it’s stu-”

Wherever Scott was going to go with the rest of that sentence—he never made it. And it was Liam’s fault—seeing as how Liam crashed his mouth against Scott’s again. At this point it might as well be labeled a reflexive reaction to every time Liam saw Scott hurting. Liam literally had no control over himself sometimes. So there he stayed, waiting for the moment when Scott would shove him away so that Liam could apologize.

Except Scott didn’t.

Liam slowly pulled away and stared wide-eyed at Scott—expecting to see either fright or repulsion on the other’s face but found none. Scott just stared back at Liam looking just as wounded as he did before Liam had kissed him.

“You didn’t push me away,” Liam muttered under his breath for lack of a better thing to say.

“Didn’t want to,” Scott responded—keeping the teen locked in his gaze.

“I thought you said you were a hetero?”

“I also remember telling you that I never been kissed by you before, or did you forget?”

“No I…” Liam lowered his gaze and bowed his head. The blue-eyed teen could no longer stare at Scott without feeling the heat on his cheeks. And jod Liam didn’t know how to get himself out of this awkward situation he placed himself in. “What about now?”

“I’m still me,” Scott muttered and Liam couldn’t help the laugh that escaped him. Scott just loved being infuriatingly vague didn’t he?

“You know that’s not what I-” Liam started refuting but then Scott cupped Liam’s face with both hands and pulled the teen forward—kissing Liam so powerfully that Liam forgot how to function. “–meant,” Liam finished breathlessly after Scott leaned away slightly—lips tingling. They stared at each other, accessing each other’s expressions, before Scott stood on his knees and pulled Liam by the waist to press up against him. One hand remained on Liam’s hip while the other cupped Liam’s face again before pulling the human in for another intense kiss.

It felt incredible! _‘Was this jodding real life?’_ Liam immediately twisted his fingers into Scott’s hair and reciprocated as much as he could. And shit Liam was never going to stop! Scott’s mouth then trailed its way down Liam’s neck, and Scott’s hands moved to grab Liam’s wrists as Scott slowly pulled Liam’s arms down and-

~x~x~

_“That’s it Liam my boy,” he said as he pressed Liam’s face to the pillow and held Liam’s arms behind his back by the wrists. “The monsters can’t find you if you don’t scream. And if they can’t find you then your mother doesn’t have to get hurt now does she?”_

~x~x~

“..a.! .ey ..am! Wa.. .p! Lia. … yo. ..th me? …! _Liam!_ ”

The teen opened his eyes and had to take a sharp intake of breath. He felt a tingling sensation like needles all around his chest and arms, a sudden numbness in his fingertips and a tremendous headache forming. Took Liam a second to realize that he was laying flat on the ground with a worried Scott hovering over him.

“You okay?” Liam asked once he could find his voice—but with the way it cracked you’d think Liam hadn’t spoken in years. In fact Liam wasn’t sure if he actually said anything or if he just croaked.

Apparently he did say something because Scott responded with a rattled “If by okay you mean having the living shit scared out of me then yeah, I’m honky dory.” And then Scott was helping Liam sit up as the numbness in the teen’s body began to slip away.

“What happened?” Liam asked once the fog in his head started to clear up. “How did I end up on the floor?”

“I don’t know,” said Scott—not letting go of Liam even though the human no longer needed his help to stay upright. “One minute you were fine and the next you started trembling and no matter how much I called your name it was like you couldn’t hear me,” Scott explained—expression all kinds of troubled. “You blanked out, Liam.”

And then Liam remembered. Lips on his neck... His hands being held behind his back... Liam gave an involuntary shudder. _‘Oh… so that’s what happened.’_

“Liam?”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Liam stated, avoiding Scott’s gaze.

“But Liam, you-”

“I said _I don’t want to talk about it!_ ” Liam yelled while closing his eyes and immediately feeling like shit because of it.

Here was Scott, opening up to Liam about everything that mattered in his life—his hometown, his friends, his hardships—and Liam couldn’t do the same for him. Liam was the world’s biggest hypocrite, that’s what he was. He wanted all the good but shared none of the bad. And now Liam was jodding blanking out the moment he felt the least bit restrained by _Scott_ of all the people! The one person Liam was sure would never try to take advantage of him. _‘I just… I’m never going to be happy am I?'_

“My turn,” Scott said—lightly gripping Liam’s chin and turning the teen’s face toward him. Liam opened his eyes, which were no doubt rimmed with unshed tears, and only focused on the way Scott’s eyes were solely concentrated on maneuvering the Fashala with careful precision. They stayed silent for the minutes it took Scott to finish shaving Liam’s face. And all Liam could think of during that time was the fantastic job he did at ruining whatever progress they had made. Scott was probably never going to kiss Liam again after this.

Once Scott finished he put everything away, doused the fire and draped his blanket around Liam’s shoulders. Then Scott did what Liam least expected him to do. He kissed Liam’s forehead and pulled the teen into another one of his hugs—the one where Liam got to hide his face on Scott’s shoulder. And if Liam silently sobbed onto the werewolf’s shirt, well Scott didn’t make a comment about it.

And if they fell asleep locked into each other’s embrace then… Liam guessed that spoke more about how terrified they both were of being alone than it spoke of them actually getting anywhere near to being okay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoa! 50k words already. Can you believe that?
> 
> Next up is the storm. And by "storm" I mean shitastic amount of chaos. Our two protagonist have no idea what awaits them the closer they get to California. Life altering decisions will be made.
> 
> Also, anyone here a Cora Hale fan? I would like to know for... _purposes_.


	6. …it's short, it's simple, it's crystal Clear.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scott & Liam discover that the past always has a way to catching up to them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy belated New Year everyone! How's it going? Anyway here's the second part of what was meant to be in the chapter from before. It's 18k words in length and it's pretty climatic. So I don't recommend reading it if you have someplace to be because you will be late. ( _I'm looking at you Anim3Fan4Ever_ ). Otherwise enjoy a front and center seat as Liam is completely submerged into Scott's world.
> 
> Unbeta'd

_Opening the door Liam entered an empty ballroom. The walls were white. The ceiling was white. The floor was white. Every jodding thing in there was white and Liam didn’t like it._

_He took a step backward intending to leave the room but when Liam no longer felt the doorknob he twisted his body around only to discover that the door was no longer there either. In fact Liam was standing in the middle of the room with no walls near him. The room was suddenly way bigger than it was when he first entered it and the floor seemed to go on and on with no end._

_Surprisingly though Liam wasn’t scared. Quite the contrary actually. He felt a certain familiarity with this place—like he had been there before. Except Liam was pretty sure he hasn’t._

_What was happening again? He didn’t remember. Last thing he recalled was open skies. Liam didn’t remember seeking shelter so… Why was he here?_

_**-Bring him to me-** _

_“Who’s there?!” Liam shouted pivoting around trying to find the source of that voice—a difficult task seeing as its echo kept reverberating in the emptiness of the room from all directions. Except there was no one in the room anywhere Liam looked. Which that couldn’t be possible because Liam was sure that he heard-_

_**-Bring him to me-** _

_“Jod!” Liam cursed as he began running away from the voice. It sounded angry. Angry meant dangerous. Liam had to escape this place before the voice finds him. However no matter how much Liam ran or how much he exerted himself, it felt like he was going nowhere._

_**-Bring him to me!-** _

_Liam felt his right foot get caught on absolutely nothing and had to use his elbows to absorb the impact of his fall. He rolled himself around to try to see what snagged his leg and froze when he saw a woman crouching by his feet. She was wearing a yellow gala dress—the color that always favored her eyes—and her hair was kept in those ridiculously tight side-buns that seemed to be in fashion among working women exactly five years ago. Her eyes the same color as Liam’s._

_“Mom?” Liam whispered not believing his eyes._

_Why was she here? Did she come to find him? Did she chase after him as he fled the restaurant?_

_But no, that was five years ago. Fashion trends inside the Domes didn’t last more than a trimester. There was no way Liam’s mom would be caught dead wearing the same thing she did the last time he saw her. And just as Liam thought of this, her face started whirling around until it turned into a black hole as she slowly approached. Liam wanted to run but couldn’t move. He wanted to scream but he couldn’t find his voice. Liam was paralyzed and he was going to die._

_**-Bring him to me-** _

~x~x~

The teen opened his eyes with a start and immediately flinched because of the bright jodding sunlight. With the Sun being so blinding Liam could only summarize that he woke up latter than he usually did—which Liam guessed it’s exactly what he got for trying to pull an all-nighter. The crackle of fire could only mean that Scott already returned from hunting and was in the process of making them breakfast.

Pulling the blanket away from his body Liam sat up and gave a bleary-eyed glare toward Scott’s general direction. “You could have woken me earlier,” Liam grumbled, knowing Scott would listen. Liam tried not to pout when he heard Scott’s chuckle.

“Tried to but you were snoring. Thought I let you rest some more. Your bed-hair is impressive by the way.”

 _‘My cocksucking skills are better,’_ Liam thought but of course he wasn’t about to say that aloud. Instead Liam rubbed the remnants of sleep out of his eyes and made his way to sit next to Scott. The two were having natter-rabbits again. Personally Liam preferred herons to mammals for breakfast but it wasn’t like he had the right to be picky since he wasn’t the one hunting the stuff.

There were still four days until they made it to Sacramento; and even then they still would need a few hours to locate its trading ground. Even as Liam watched the orange fire turn into flailing hands, he tried not to think about what that meant for his state of mind.

“Are you okay?”

Startled by the sound of Scott’s voice Liam turned his head to catch Scott’s frowning expression staring back at him. Liam could tell by the barely hidden worry behind brown eyes that Scott wanted to ask about what happened last night; yet Scott was stopping himself for Liam’s sake. For Scott, the teen’s mental stability was more important than his own curiosity. Liam probably could never be that selfless. After all Liam had a long history of putting himself before anybody else.

“Fine,” Liam answered. “Everything is just magma.”

Scott only responded by averting his gaze and giving Liam’s shoulder a light squeezed before they both returned to watching the natter-rabbits slowly roast in the fire. It wasn’t until much later that Liam remembered Scott’s ability to detect lies.

~x~x~

Their trek to the west hit a bump in the road the size of a horrenda giant split in the ground. There was a jodding crater of at least twenty meters wide between them and their destination—and its length stretched as far as the eye could see, if not further. Liam picked up a pebble and let it dropped and he was still waiting to hear it land. _‘That’s a jodding deep fall.’_

“There were supposed to be bridges here,” Scott stated, eyeing at the gap intently as if he could make a bridge sprout in front of them by sheer force of will. “Tons of them. I… don’t know what happened. But I’ll figure something out, I promise. I’m not giving up on crossing even if I have to leap to the other side.”

“~ _I’d pay to see that_ ~”

Turning around at the sound of a child’s voice, Liam would have fallen to his death had Scott’s grip on his arm hadn’t stopped Liam from backtracking. Standing in front of them was a young girl probably no older than ten. Her skin was black. Her hair darker. She wore a light blue cotton shirt and a frilly pink skirt—both of a style Liam had never seen before. She was small in size and her eyes were staring directly at Scott’s. By all means she would had looked like a normal kid if it weren’t for the fact that Liam could see right through her.

She was transparent. And no matter how many times Liam blinked she did not disappear.

“~ _You haven’t come visit in a long time,_ ~” the girl said crossing her arms and fixating a glare on Scott. “~ _Thought you forgot ‘bout me._ ~”

“That’s never going to happen,” said Scott shaking his head with a defeated sigh. “I wouldn’t mind it if you did that with me though. I guess a part of me was hoping that if I stayed away long enough that you would eventually get tired of waiting for me and move on.”

“~ _Fat chance!_ ~” the girl exclaimed, stomping her foot and sticking her tongue out at Scott. “~ _I told you I won’t pass on until you do and I keep my promises._ ~”

And okay, Liam was already freaked out as it was, but now this was beginning to get a weirder. “What’s happening?” Liam whispered harshly to Scott’s ear. Was Scott actually capable of seeing that girl also? If so Liam needed Scott’s reassurance because Liam could tell that girl wasn’t human!

Scott blinked at Liam as if only now realizing that a human witnessing Scott chatting up an apparition was definitely _not_ an everyday affair. “Oh, sorry, you’re not going crazy. Forgot to explain,” Scott was quick to reassure—rubbing Liam’s arms up and down to help tamper off Liam’s unease. “Her name is Alicia Boyd. She’s-”

“~ _He brought my killers to justice when everybody else forgot ‘bout me,_ ~” the girl cut in. “~ _I’m a ghost,_ ~” she supplied while giving Liam a onceover before redirecting her seemingly unimpressed gaze back to Scott. “~ _Who’s the punk?_ ~”

“Excuse me?” Liam began defensively—even though he had no idea what a ‘punk’ was—only to be interrupted by Scott.

“He’s Liam, the friend I’ve been telling about, remember?”

“~ _Rebirth boy?_ ~” she questioned while scrutinizing Liam more carefully than before. “~ _He’s short. Does he not eat vegetables?_ ~”

“Who are you calling short you infant!” Liam started, moving forward but stopped by Scott’s grip on his arm. The girl then flipped Liam the middle finger and Scott had to restrain the blue-eyed teen by slipping both arms underneath Liam’s armpits and locking hands behind Liam’s neck. Scott leaned backward and Liam’s legs kicked air instead of ground.

“Calm down Liam,” Scott muttered behind the teen’s left ear to get him to stop struggling against the hold. Liam only listened because the feel of Scott’s chest pressed firmly against his back distracted Liam from following through with any of his righteous anger. Scott then loosened his hold on Liam and Liam’s feet touched the ground once more. “Listen,” Scott cautioned, speaking mutedly. “No matter how small or innocent a ghost may look, touching them is dangerous. Especially if you’re a normal human.”

Liam saw the girl wiggle her fingers at him; hence Liam scowled at her before shaking Scott off and stepping to the side. Liam gave his back to both them as a clear sign of not wanting to partake anymore in their conversation.

Scott sighed but went back to addressing that transparent stain again. To be honest Liam was still freaking out on the inside just by being near her. Besides Scott, Liam had no experience whatsoever with the supernatural. But from what little he has seen Liam already knew 100% that he preferred his supernaturals to be fleshy and _alive_. Thank the Shepherd that at least this one was a spirit and not a corpse. ~~Liam could barely walk through a graveyard as it was and that was just from seeing their tombstones alone.~~

“Alicia,” Liam heard Scott begin. “I’m sorry to do this to you but I can’t stay long. We’re kinda in a hurry and it’s very important that we get to the other side of this crater if we want to get to California in time,” Scott explained apologetically. “Any chance you know a faster way to cross it without having to go completely around it?” he asked sounding hopeful. Liam turned his head slightly toward them so that he could watch Alicia from the corner of his eye.

The ghost pouted but diligently pointed to the south. “~ _Walk along that way and you’ll find a bridge still intact just a little outside my range,_ ~” she declared. “~ _And Scotty?_ ~” she called only to pause for some strange reason. She gave Liam a quick glance before landing her focus back on Scott. “~ _…It’s wailing again,_ ~” she warned before vanishing from sight.

~x~x~

Took a little more than two hours to find a bridge that led the way to the other side of the crater—which was a setback. Yet without a bridge it would have taken the traveling duo an entire day just to arrive at the edge of it. It was _that_ massive. Meanwhile, to keep busy, Scott told Liam the story behind the ghost they just met.

Alicia Boyd was a young girl of nine that got kidnapped in an ice rink while she was skating with her family—except no one saw it happen. With no leads and not enough public interest, the circumstances behind her disappearance were never uncovered and her family left without closure. She was murdered three days after her abduction by a psychopath who thought he was doing the Lord’s work, and buried just outside the borders of what used to be the State of Arizona.

It was only by chance that Scott stumbled upon her ghost shortly after he was banished from his hometown. And even though the trail had gone cold long ago, Scott was still able to track down the killer and stop him just as he was about to commit another murder. Law enforcement was able to link other murder cases to the killer thanks to an anonymous tip Scott left them, and that’s the story of how this _friendly_ ghost ascribed herself to Scott.

According to Scott, as soon as that phantom learned of Scott’s predicament she vowed to not pass on to the afterlife until Scott was able to do the same—just to make sure Scott would never be friendless. The problem was that Alicia, as a ghost, was bounded to her past. That meant that although her range was quite large she couldn’t distance herself too much from her place of death—which of course meant that she couldn’t travel much. Thus with Scott having to be constantly on the move, it meant that they sometimes had to go centuries without seeing each other.

Scott shared that he had tried multiple times to convince her to move on by herself—to go see her family in the afterlife—and had, in fact, not stopped by since his 1000’s birthday as a last ditched effort to dissuade her from waiting on him. But as it turned out, deals made by the dead have a knack of being quite binding. The skies were already turning black by the time Scott and Liam got back on track and as always Scott went to hunt while Liam tended to their night’s campsite.

Liam wished he could say that being alone by the fire didn’t unnerve him—seeing as Liam has been a loner for most his life—but it sure would have been easier to handle if he didn’t keep seeing men in skull masks surrounding him from every direction.

“Keep calm Liam,” the teen muttered to himself, imagining Scott’s voice behind his ear saying it as Liam fed more wood to the flames. Those men weren’t real. They can’t harm anyone. Liam kept repeating that same mantra to himself as he silently willed Scott to get there faster so that Liam could focus on the werewolf instead.

Suddenly Liam heard footsteps coming from his right—increasing in velocity. He turned his head to see one of the masked men charging toward him. Again Liam told himself that it wasn’t real. That it was just his mind playing tricks on him. Liam wasn’t twelve anymore. He shouldn’t be scared of counterfeit monsters. He wasn’t in any real danger. Scott would be here if Liam was. Just… blink it away. Blink it away. Blink it away.

“~ _Duck!!_ ~” Liam heard someone yell from behind him and it was only at that moment that the image of the man changed into that of a bos-taurus. Liam threw himself to the ground as the bos-taurus leapt over him and continued its charge away from the campsite. Liam pushed himself up with scratched palms to find that he was no longer surrounded by the strange men in skull masks. He let out a sigh of relief only to be startled again by the voice from before. “~ _You’re not very brainy are you Rebirth boy?_ ~”

Turning himself around Liam came face to face with the girl from before, Alicia. “It’s you,” Liam stated, reaching out to touch her to confirm if she was real or not. She warped 4 meters away from him before he could.

“~ _Call me Boyd and I wouldn’t do that unless you want that hand to go numb,_ ~” she warned before warping close to Liam again as if daring him to try it again. “~ _If you’re lucky that is._ ~” Scott’s words about ghosts being dangerous resonated in Liam’s head then and he vigorously scurried away from her. The action made her give Liam an eerie smile.

“What if I’m unlucky?” Liam asked, eyeing her warily.

“~ _Accidental possession,_ ~” she replied as she started to skip and twirled around the human as if they were playing some kind of game. “~ _It means you’ll go bonkers,_ ~” she said while walking on her tippy toes for some bizarre reason. Liam followed her with his gaze as she circled around him. Was this a dance? “~ _And after 10 minutes your body will grow too cold and you’ll die. Is what Revenants do._ ~”

“Revenants?” Liam questioned.

“~ _Ghosts of vengeance,_ ~” she declared while doing another twirl. She might be Scott’s friend but her presence was seriously beginning to unease Liam. “~ _In my case I put every kidnapper that walks thru my playground to sleep. Night night. But no one comes lately anymore. I’m bored._ ~”

Okay now Liam was way past the point of being unnerved. He was officially scared now. “I bet Scott doesn’t know about that, does he?” Liam questioned, doing his best to disguise how frightened he really was by putting up a strong front. 

“~ _The Fox Lady said Scotty doesn’t believe in arbit- arbi- in random killing. He won’t be my friend if he knows so don’t tell him,_ ~” she said stopping right in front of Liam. “ _~And I know you won’t because you are just like me,_ ~” she alleged, sizing Liam. “~ _I can see it in your eyes. You killed someone who wasn’t a murderer too._ ~”

“…”

“…”

“…Why are you here?”

“~ _Saving you from getting rammed by a cow, duh,_ ~” she said unabashedly. “~ _Plus I’ve never met the source of Scotty’s pain before._ ~”

**-BwyRgaIvoNtdGyt HhpIgfMse TnmOdr MpsE-**

As if Alicia’s words weren’t enough to trouble Liam, now he was hearing voices again. For a moment there Liam thought he was beginning to go crazy. That is until he saw Alicia turn her head toward the direction the voice came from as well. “You heard that?” Liam muttered—half afraid that something bad will happen if he acknowledged it out loud.

“~ _The wailings,_ ~” She responded nonchalantly. “~ _They get stronger every time Scott comes near. Except Scotty can’t hear it even when every other supernatural creature I’ve seen could._ ~”

But those weren’t wailings… they sounded familiar to Liam but he couldn’t pinpoint from where. “Why can’t Scott hear it?”

“~ _Dunno,_ ~” she said, pursing her lips. “~ _I tried possessing him once you know. Wanted to help him see his friends faster. But I couldn’t. His spirit feels disconnected. It pushes everything away. He can’t even find other supernaturals unless we find him first,_ ” she explained before turning to face Liam. “~ _What’s suspect is that you hear it at all? That don’t make sense. You’re not supernatural, are you? You shouldn’t be able to see me. So why can you?_ ~”

“I, uh-” Liam didn’t have a response for that. But apparently she didn’t require one because next thing Liam knew she was no longer standing in front of him and instead was seated crossed-legged next to him. “Jod!” Liam cursed almost having the life scared out of him. “Stop doing that,” he hissed tired of being made fun of.

She just kept on staring unmoved; which in turn made Liam dislike her even more. “~ _The wailings come from our hometown, except Scott refuses to go there,_ ~” she continued unbothered. “~ _I’m curious to go there meself but it’s outside of my range. And I’ve seen so many supernaturals go that direction and never come back. So whatever is making those wailing noises must be dangerous._ ~”

“Why tell me all this?”

“~ _Because Scotty always finds **you** ,_~” she said plainly, eyes focused intently on Liam. “~ _I once had brother. He died before he could find me. He was tall, big, smart, and had a great future ahead of him. But he traded it all because he wanted to be like Scott._ ~”

“A werewolf?” Liam guessed but she shook her head.

“~ _Chummy. All my brother wanted was to have someone who wouldn’t let him eat alone. Now he’s gone, probably with friends. And Scotty is still here without anyone. Is that funny or sad?_ ~”

“He’s not alone,” Liam countered. “He has **_me_**.”

“~ _Does he?_ ~” she questioned quirking her brow and not looking all that convinced. “~ _Fox Lady left. I can’t travel far and you always die and forget him,_ ~” she pointed out leaving Liam stumped. “~ _You only hurt him more every time you come back._ ~” she continued. “~ _Have you thought about staying dead next time?_ ~”

“I-”

“You let the fire die out.”

Liam turned his head to find Scott approaching the campsite with the day’s hunt. Scott dumped it next to the dwindled flames and raised an eyebrow at Liam—probably at Liam’s dumbfounded expression as the teen watched Alicia dance circles around Scott without the werewolf noticing. _‘She wasn’t lying... Scott really can’t see his own kind unless they want him too.’_ Alicia stuck her tongue out at Liam then before poofing out of existence.

“Liam?”

“Uh, yeah, sorry. I’ll get to that. I, yeah.”

~x~x~

Needless to say that Liam had a lot running through his brain that night. They lost a lot of time today on their trip to Sacramento because of the crater. Plus even more time searching for a shelter they could camp out in because Scott said it wasn’t safe to sleep outside tonight on account of too much wildlife. They managed to find this empty place called a “ **7 Eleven** ” in the middle of nowhere by sheer luck. Scott said that about a hundred years ago people used to stop there to recharge their hovercrafts. Back before all transport technology stopped working outside of the Domes.

According to Scott the jammers that stopped technology from working during the fall of Second Asia are still present to this day; and the Domes were built around them. The Domes initial purpose was to regulate the use of technology. But during the Zombie War the Domes closed off their walls from the rest of humanity and with it the power to counter the jamming signals. Fortunately though, in order for the Domes to be able to function, they had to disrupt the jamming signals in some fashion—and however they were accomplishing it was causing fluctuations. Those small fluctuations were what allowed low-powered tech like EMD sticks and Net fields to still be usable outside the Domes.

Of course no one had any way of knowing how long that opening will last for.

More pressingly Liam also had to deal with the fact that his hallucinations were getting harder to control—if almost getting killed by a bos-taurus today was anything to go by. Consequently that also served as an eye-opener that Scott, despite his best intentions, couldn’t realistically protect Liam from every dangerous situation he gets himself into. Of course Liam should had known that already. If Liam was any kind of smart he should probably start learning a few survival tricks from Scott already.

Which brought Liam to his next problem. He _didn’t have_ the time to learn anything from Scott. In fact it was pretty unlikely that by this time next week Liam would be in any state to comprehend anything. There was absolutely no guarantee that they were going to find the type of medicine Liam needed from Sacramento. He might as well start saying his goodbyes now.

In the long run these past two weeks hadn’t been all bad. Liam could honestly say they’ve been the best days of his remaining teenage years. The highlight of his life. And because of that Liam didn’t want to end them without first knowing that Scott would be all right by himself.

“Scott… you awake?” Liam muttered. They were both lying on the concrete floor, sharing a blanket with their backs to each other. ~~And it already felt like they were too far apart.~~ Liam heard Scott hum in response and so the teen licked his dry lips as he tried to figure out how to get this conversation rolling. “What’s going to happen between us in four years time?” Liam asked quietly and felt Scott stir slightly. “Are you, are you going to leave?”

The werewolf didn’t answer immediately. And when he did it wasn’t what Liam was hoping to hear. “Well I kinda have to, don’t I?”

“Why do you have to?” Liam asked, still keeping their tones muted. “I mean, I already know your secret. You don’t… you don’t have to hide from me.”

“Because some time, eventually, you’re going to want to settle down someplace. With people. And hey, maybe you’ll meet someone you really like there,” Scott replied, just as quietly. “But you can’t do that with me around Liam. I don’t, age. So I can’t settle anywhere. Never will be able too… I also can’t have people remembering me or I won’t be able to visit again. You’ll never get a chance at life with me around, basically,” Scott exhaled. “I can’t do that to you.”

“What if I don’t want to settle?” Liam mumbled, trying not to sound as pathetic as he felt.

“…Then we’ll just end up being the tragic sequel to **The Painted Warrior** ,” Scott whispered. “You deserve so much more than to live the rest of your life lonely and unfulfilled, Liam. I already did that mistake once. I can’t— _won’t_ —let myself repeat it again. It wouldn’t be fair to you.”

Liam gripped the blanket and tucked himself further in it as he considered Scott’s words. Scott sounded very resolute in his decision and Liam was beginning to feel how they were drifting even further apart. But those were the facts, weren’t they? Scott’s immortal. Liam wasn’t. Scott was going to leave. Liam wasn’t some kitsune that could trick time to spend eternity with the one he cared about. Scott was just going to replace Liam with the next version that came. There’s nothing Liam could do to change that. So what was the point in falling for Scott?

 _That’s the point…_ that there isn’t one.

“Then why did you kiss back last night?” Liam asked. If Scott’s mind was already set on leaving then why do something so cruel as to give Liam hope? Was that just Scott being horny? Liam didn’t understand it.

~~Why didn’t Scott reject Liam like he was supposed to?~~

“I don’t know,” Scott answered after a beat; and Liam felt the werewolf shifting in his position again. If Liam had to guess he’d say that Scott was probably facing the ceiling now. “Maybe I just missed it, you know, being with someone. I can’t remember the last time someone carded their fingers through my hair. Or the last time someone has… wanted me. Truly, I’ve gone a thousand years without sex that it stopped crossing my mind forever ago. So for all I know, it could just have been me reacting from being starved of it. But I do like you Liam… I’m just…”

“Can’t let yourself like me more than you already do. I get it,” Liam finished for the werewolf even though Liam himself didn’t want to get it. Even so it would had been even more heartbreaking to hear it straight from Scott’s mouth.

“I’m sorry.”

Was Scott sorry for not being able to reciprocate or for reciprocating but not being able to follow through? Liam was probably better off not knowing the answer to that question. _‘Jod. This is all so stupid.’_ Yet instead of letting himself be dissuaded by it, this only reinforced Liam’s drive of wanting to be the difference in Scott’s life.

“Boyd came to talk to me while you were catching dinner,” Liam said; and he heard Scott breathe out a sigh of relief because of the subject change.

“Alicia?” Scott queried—and Liam felt him turning his body toward the teen.

“She prefers to be called Boyd,” Liam corrected.

“And I already told her that wasn’t happening,” Scott replied with a hint of mirth in his voice. Then after a moment of Liam not filling the silence, Scott probed further—more serious now. “Was she nice to you?”

 _‘Nice?’_ Liam almost failed to stop the bitter laugh that wanted to come out from his throat at that. If nice equaled a vengeful ghost wishing that Liam had stayed dead forever then yeah she was the epitome of nice. But Liam wasn’t making this about himself. “She was still there when you came back with the hunt.”

“…Oh.”

“Oh?” Liam repeated rolling around to face Scott. The werewolf was already looking disheartened enough without Liam saying anything; but the human still opened his mouth. “She said you can’t spot anything supernatural until it reveals itself to you first. She said that you are completely disconnected from the rest. She also said she seen other supernaturals come through here. Scott, what are you going to do if you can’t spot them?”

“We don’t have to worry about that,” Scott deflected easily. “If there are indeed other supernatural creatures out here, they’ll be heading to Beacon Hills; not Sacramento. We’ll be fine,” he assured but Liam wasn’t having it.

“Beacon Hills? Is that the name of your hometown?” Liam questioned and took Scott’s lack of answer as confirmation. “Boyd says that place is dangerous. But you’re immortal, right? Maybe you can go there and-”

“Liam stop-”

“Maybe you can find a Banshee there! A live one! Maybe you’ll be able to get some answers about your curse! Maybe-”

“I’m not going back there, Liam.”

“Why not Scott?!” Liam countered, rapidly getting exasperated with Scott’s unbudgingness. “Isn’t getting answers what you want? What are you so afraid of?”

“I’m not scared of anything,” he denied.

“Oh yeah?” Liam said digging for the lighter in his pocket and flicking it on in front of Scott’s face. The latter sat up and bolted away so fast that the fabric of their blanket ripped with how suddenly it was stretched. But Liam barely paid that any mind. He was too busy drowning in remorse because of the hunted look in Scott’s brown eyes. It was there only for a split second; but it was enough to annihilate whatever righteous anger Liam had felt festering inside of him. “I’m sorry,” Liam muttered as he flicked the lighter off and threw it at the ground between them—watching it as it continued to slide until it bumped Scott’s knee.

Afterward Liam rolled to face away from the other and continued to berate himself for doing something so thoughtless. Liam only wanted to find a way to help Scott. He wasn’t trying to fight with him. _‘Why do I always do the wrong thing?’_ Liam heard a door open and risked peeking over his shoulder only to find that Scott was no longer there.

~~_‘Congratulations Liam, now you’re even further apart.’_~~

~x~x~

_Liam was back in the same endless white room of before. Yet before he could orient himself he felt a sharp blow to the back of his skull. Liam let out a cry as he dropped to the ground—clutching his head and desperately trying to scramble away from his assailant before turning to face whomever it was. This time, instead of his mom standing in front of him, it was a person Liam had never met before._

_The guy was obviously taller than Liam—even with his hair buzzed. He was pale, honey-eyed, and had multiples little moles adorning his face. However what stood out from the guy the most were the offending bright red hoodie he was wearing and the wooden bat he held in his hands. No doubt what he had used to strike Liam with._

_“Who are you?” Liam asked; wincing at the pain it caused his skull. But before Liam could get another word out, the guy in the red hoodie swung the bat down again._

_**-Bring my buddy back-** _

~x~x~

Liam awoke from his bed with a familiar kind of warmth missing from his side. But the teen guessed that was okay. Scott had always been an early riser and was probably finishing up the work he’d brought home last night. Always a hard worker that guy. Scott was going to tire himself out one of these days but that was okay too because whenever that happens Liam would be there to take care of him.

Folding the blanket while rousing from bed, Liam took notice that it was still too dark inside their bedroom. With a flick of the wrist he tried to summon his holopad in order to open the blinds from the windows but the holopad didn’t phase into existence as it should have. _Weird_ , but not improbable. The batteries must have run out. So instead Liam moved to the side of the bed and searched for the manual controller.

As soon as he found it Liam picked it up and tried to remember how these things worked. It sure was a hassle having to do everything by himself. If Liam remembered correctly the controller had a button that had to be press down to turn it on. Liam lifted it up close to his face and shifted it around in his hands until he was able to locate it. But just as Liam was about to press it, a hand landed over it and lowered the controller from Liam’s face.

Blinking twice at the hand, Liam’s blue eyes slowly trailed its source. Liam’s gaze went from the arm it was attached to, to the shoulder, neck, jaw and eventually face. He found Scott staring back with eyes of concern. Scott opened his mouth to say something and at first Liam couldn’t catch it. But then Scott’s other hand gripped Liam’s shoulder and all sound came back at once.

“Liam? Are you there?”

Blinking again Liam stared at Scott wondering what the werewolf was on about. But then Liam looked down to what Scott was pushing away from the teen’s grip; and what Liam saw was the crossbow charged and loaded held in his own hands—pointed directly at himself. Liam’s pulse hastened then.

_‘What in Shepherd’s name was I doing?’_

It was still the middle of the night and Liam was inside the establishment they had found shelter in, _not_ in some fancy master bedroom. There was no bed and no blinds covering the windows—only planks of steel boarding everything shut. There was no job to finish because neither Scott nor Liam were living comfortable lives inside a Dome where everything could be controlled with holopads. Liam couldn’t believe he thought any of that was real—even for a second. Those were obviously hallucinations but Liam still went along with them easily.

And if Scott hadn’t stop Liam when he did, Liam wouldn’t had lived to tell the difference.

“Liam?”

“S-Sorry,” the teen stammered, dropping the crossbow where it thankfully didn’t fire upon impacting the tiled floor. It took Liam a moment to center himself again, but when he did he pulled away from Scott and spun around to pick up the discarded blanket from the floor. Without regarding Scott further Liam relocated to another aisle and made his bed there—determined to sleep the rest of the night away.

He was vaguely aware of Scott’s hesitant steps following after him so Liam turned on his side so that he wouldn’t have to face Scott. It took the werewolf a couple of moments to finally sit down beside the human—but it wasn’t like if Liam was counting them. Liam was perfectly content with ignoring Scott and pretending this never happened. Liam’s eyes remained perfectly shut even as he felt Scott’s brown ones on him.

Eventually Scott couldn’t hold it in any longer. “What happened back there?” he asked softly as if trying not to disturb the teen. Scott obviously could not tell how miserably he was failing at it. 

“I was- half-asleep. Distracted,” Liam excused, reducing his momentary lack of lucidity to something simple, unimportant. The excuse was sort of true, but not entirely. “It’s your fault anyways for not being there when I woke up,” Liam accused as if that had to do with anything. In truth Liam was still slightly shaken by what he had almost done to himself; and venting his frustration on someone else helped, if only little. But not enough to distract from the fact that it was Scott’s touch what brought Liam back to his senses.

“Liam...” Scott started yet apparently thought better of it. “I thought you were already accustomed to me not being there when you wake,” he said instead. “You know I’ll always come back. It’s not like I’m going to abandon you without saying anything. So you don’t have- you don’t have to-”

At the catch in Scott’s voice Liam turned himself around and regarded Scott openly. There was a war happening behind his brown eyes, something Liam wasn’t sure had entirely to do with himself. Yet Scott was reliving something. Of _that_ Liam was sure.

“Just promise you’ll be there next time I wake up and we’ll be fine,” Liam grumbled while turning away and closing his eyes again—not wanting to intrude on Scott’s moment any longer. It wasn’t immediate but before Liam could drift off he felt Scott sinking down next to him. And Liam was only partially surprised when he felt Scott wrapped his arms around him.

“Is this okay?” Scott whispered, breath ghosting behind Liam’s neck. The latter nodded and grabbed Scott’s right hand between both of Liam’s—bringing it to curl under Liam’s chin and consequentially pulling Scott closer in. And just like that all was forgiven between them. Liam lighting a fire in front of Scott’s face and Scott being so obstinately closed off about the subject of his hometown. They never wanted to fight each other again.

“Take me hunting with you tomorrow,” Liam requested faintly, absentmindedly massaging the knuckles of Scott’s hand.

“Always,” Scott muttered, and just for tonight Liam let himself pretend that Scott meant it for longer than he could promise.

~x~x~

“Is that a-”

“A roadrunner,” Scott murmured almost inaudibly. “Though nowadays I think they are called Cloccyx. They are part lizard so their skin is extra hard for a bird. So is their meat.”

As promised Scott had taken Liam with him for the morning hunt. And while on it they stumbled on an abandoned midden—a landfill. Garbage dumps were a rare sight to see since it was discovered long ago that rotoplasma easily disposed of trash without any damaging effect to the environment. This meant that to whoever this landfill belonged to was probably the least ecofriendly—if not the most laziest—city in all Norte Americana.

Mountains upon mountains of trash could be spotted in the distance as whoever built it never bothered to seal it and of course—having never seen one before—Liam managed to convince Scott to come along to check it out. And it was there that the duo came across the Cloccyx—blending with its surroundings by changing the color of its feathers.

Currently all Scott and Liam have managed to do is hide behind a tall pile of trash by doing the military crawl to keep as close to the ground as possible. The Cloccyx wasn’t alerted of their presence yet but that all could change the moment either of them tries to approach it further. You see Cloccyx are known for having 360 degrees vision and quick reflexes. The few seconds it would take for Liam to expose himself and aim his crossbow would feel like nothing to it. That heron would likely be all the way to Sur Americana by the time Liam shot it. _They were that fast!_

Yet if they somehow managed to catch it then the duo wouldn’t need to hunt again at night. For the past week Scott had only been pursuing small animals because they were easier to hunt and it hastened their travels. But that heron was just big enough for breakfast, lunch and dinner—it would be easy to skin and cook—and not too troublesome to salt and carry. It was the perfect prize.

“I want it,” Liam muttered to Scott—gripping the crossbow to himself and eager for the opportunity to strike.

“One problem,” muttered Scott back. “That bird is quicker than me. Not many land animals can boast that but I have never managed to catch a Cloccyx without the use of a net; and I’m sorry to say that we don’t count with one,” he sighed—no doubt thinking along the same lines of this being the perfect hunt. “I don’t see us winning this one.”

To say that Liam wasn’t scowling at their low chances of success would be a lie. But then a spark of inspiration struck him. “Maybe we don’t need a net,” Liam plotted as he shoved the crossbow to Scott’s hands and riffled through their duffels for one of their oldest acquisitions. “How good is your eyesight?” Liam questioned—smirking as he pulled out a smoke grenade.

Scott took one look at it and grinned back at Liam. “Above average,” Scott replied as his eyes started glowing purple. Liam uncapped the grenade and pulled off its key before gently rolling it on the ground around the pile of trash. When it exploded they covered the bottom half of their faces with their shirts and waited until the smokescreen surrounded them completely.

“Can you see it?” Liam asked as Scott moved to his knees to take aim with the crossbow. “Is it still there?”

“Hasn’t moved,” Scott stated. “It’s looking our way but…” Scott pulled the trigger. “No way!”

“What?” Liam questioned—getting on his knees as well but still not able to see a thing. “Did you miss? Did it get away?”

“Just look,” Scott said as the smoke was beginning to clear. Liam bit his lip not knowing what to expect until he saw it. A clean kill.

“You got it?” Liam voiced almost not believing it.

“I got it,” Scott echoed energetically as he bumped shoulders with his hunting partner. “Your plan worked! You’re a genius!”

“You got it!” Liam repeated again more excited than before as he turned to face Scott.

“ _We_ got it,” Scott affirmed while giving Liam that dimpled smile of his.

“Bull’s eye?” Liam questioned, brandishing one of the retro terms he remembered the werewolf using. Scott’s answering grin was indeed contagious. They hi-fived. The first one Liam ever shared and what a rush it was. They were so flaming! Liam had never felt so magma in his life. Overall best morning ever!

~x~x~

The thunder was unforgivingly loud, the rain relentless in the way it pounded down on the fleeing pair, every step was a safety hazard, and every building in this ruined city a cracked column away from collapsing on top of them. However nothing topped the bloodcurdling screeches of every grat they had to fight on their way through this vermin infested warzone.

“Whose idea was it again to come through here?!” Liam shouted as he shot down another grat that leapt their way—this one making it disturbingly close to Liam’s face before a bolt between its two heads redirected its flight plan.

“Yours!” Scott shouted back as he shoved Liam behind him while kicking away the grat that tried to climb up the teen’s leg before slashing at the one that almost bit Scott’s. “I distinctly remember you saying it would be a shame to circle around this dump without stopping to read the billboards. You even pulled the puppy face to get me to agree! Don’t deny it!”

“What in Shepherd’s name is a puppy?!” Liam yelled while shooting another grat that was preying on top of a statue waiting for the duo to run past it to spring down on them. Liam missed because of the heavy rain but it was enough to scare it. “And don’t act like you didn’t notice the clouds graying! You were looking for shelter just as much as I was so don’t go pining it all on me!” Liam countered.

“I wasn’t!” Scott grunted while tackling a gate open so that they could escape down an alley. He waited until Liam crossed to push it close again and bending the lock so that it would stay that way. “I was just pointing out that it was your idea first!”

“Real mature Scott!” Liam protested while aiming his crossbow at another grat only to come out empty. “I’m out of ammo!” he exclaimed turning to face Scott with a worried expression. Liam saw dread veil Scott’s face as a swarm of grats started to rush toward them. Scott’s eyes then glowed as he pushed Liam behind him while letting out a gutting roar that not even the thunder could drown out—and it seemed to rumble every building to its foundations. It was impressive, if not frightening, to experience.

The grats certainly appeared to think the same because they all stopped dead on their tracks in perfect unison. “C’mon, that won’t keep them for long,” cried Scott as he grasped Liam’s hand in his and led them down another alley. This probably wasn’t the best time to get red-faced but Liam couldn’t quite quell the blush spreading on his cheeks at how Scott’s hand seemed to fit perfectly with his. _‘Jodding fuck, focus you dim horrenda stain!’_

They ran and ran and were _this close_ to making it outside of the city when all of the sudden Scott came to an abrupt stop. “Someone is in trouble,” he mumbled before brusquely redirecting their trajectory deeper into the abandoned city before Liam could let out a word of protest. The duo sprinted through more asbestos contaminated structures, more lead-based paint, skipped over piles of animal feces and waste and acids, ducked under broken rusty sharp objects, and—of course—avoided coming into contact with the grats lurking in the shadows. Oh yeah, did Liam mentioned the jodding thunderstorm?

“Scott where are we going?” Liam shouted—having trouble keeping up because of the slippery ground. The human was 95% sure that the puddle they just stepped on wasn’t entirely made out of water.

“I hear screaming!” Scott huffed in his rush to get to where he wanted to be. “Somebody needs help!” and just as he said that they caught sight of group of people trying to haul a steel plate off the ground. “Someone is trapped under there,” Scott revealed and Liam had to dig his heels to the ground in order to stop Scott from approaching the group further.

The werewolf stared at Liam with doubt until the teen motioned towards Scott’s eyes, which were still glowing. Scott squeezed Liam’s hand and gave him a grateful smile before rushing to help lift the plate off a pregnant woman. All of the sudden another grat appeared out of nowhere heading directly for the woman and Liam—having nothing else in his possession—threw the crossbow at it as hard he could and seemingly managed to cripple its rear legs.

“Over here!” came another voice somewhere to Liam’s left. “I found shelter!”

Scott helped another guy carry the pregnant woman and all six of them followed the voice, ducking under a boarded up wall into a room strewn with trash that barely fitted them all, walls scrawled with graffiti and a single hole the size of Liam’s fist serving as their lone window. On the plus side at least the ceiling didn’t look like it was about to collapse. The two other guys that were outside picked up a wooden plate and sealed off the exit, trapping everyone inside.

“That should keep those jodding grats away until the storm passes,” said one guy while the one Scott was helping the woman lie down with started thanking the duo for coming to their aid. “I don’t know what we would have done if any of us had gotten bitten by that grat. We ain’t carrying no vaccines.” “Grat feces on a stick I thought they almost had us!” another one exclaimed followed by a “Jodding literally!”

“What’s yer names?” asked the one who found this little sanctuary with a smile on his mustached face. Unlike Scott and Liam who were drenched, all five strangers were wearing raincoats covering most of their bodies except their faces.

“I’m Delgado,” answered Scott, getting up and moving to stand in front of Liam—back to the teen. “And this is my friend, Dunbar,” he said pointing behind him and Liam took it for what it was. Even though Scott dashed to their aid without giving it a second thought, he didn’t want to be remembered by the group. “We were just passing by when we heard voices and decided to check it out. It’s no big deal, really. And as soon as the sky clears we’ll be out of your way.”

“Passing by you say?” said the guy sitting by the pregnant woman—he must be the child’s father. “You wouldn’t by any chance be heading to Sacramento would ya?” he asked and Liam took a step closer to Scott as the werewolf questioned why the guy wanted to now.

“Because there’s nothing there anymore,” answered the woman, eyes unfocused as she rubbed her belly. “An earthquake shook us 3 days ago and upheaved the entire town. Our familes… it’s all gone,” she said as she broke out into tears and her man tried to console her. Liam witnessed how Scott’s shoulders stiffened at her words.

“The whole town?” Scott echoed, confirming that Liam’s ears weren’t failing.

“Sole survivors,” informed one of the guys guarding the wooden plate—the one giving the couple a pitying shake of the head. “We’re in route to the east toward Lady Liberty Town. I have a sister there; haven’t seen her in 8 years. Hopefully she’s still alive and well and we’ll make it there before snow season starts.”

The chatter continued but Liam didn’t remember much of what happened after that. All he knew was that he sagged forward and collapsed on Scott’s back—wrapping his arms around Scott’s torso and hiding his face between Scott’s shoulder blades. Liam always knew Sacramento was a long-shot. He just didn’t know how strongly he’d been hoping to be wrong about it until now.

And it hurt… _it hurt so much._

~~_‘I think I’m breaking.’_~~

~x~x~

The rain eventually stopped and the duo parted ways with the group. Scott, ever the goodhearted guy he was, gifted them all the remaining snares the duo had so that they’ll be able to catch their own food and told them where to find the bridge they needed to cross. In return they offered Liam a spare raincoat seeing as the teen wouldn’t stop shaking and a machete to Scott to replace the lost crossbow.

Only made it an hour from that grat-infested disaster before Scott decided to make camp. Liam blinked when all self-awareness returned to him and Liam found himself sitting in front of a fire in nothing but his shorts and a blanket draped all over him. The rest of Liam’s clothes were all drying around the fire and so were their sneakers. Once Liam blinked again all sound became unmuted.

“Where is it?” he heard Scott distress from somewhere around. Liam lowered the blanket from on top of his head and glanced to the side to spot Scott anxiously riffling through their empty duffle bags. Liam kept observing Scott until the werewolf gave up and let out a long shuddering sigh. Scott’s expression was one of utter dismay when he suddenly met the human’s gaze.

Liam turned his face away and went back to staring at the fire, completely set on forgetting the world again until from his peripheral vision he saw Scott sitting next to him. Scott drew his knees to his chest—mimicking Liam’s pose exactly.

“For how long?” the werewolf asked, voice calm and steady and stripped of all other emotion as they both stared at the fire. Liam didn’t dare look at him. “It’s been exactly fourteen days since you took your last antipsychotic. Your bottle of pills isn’t in any of our bags; and I checked all the pockets. So since when, Liam? For how long have you known that your pills were missing?”

“Since we decided to leave for Sacramento,” Liam muttered stone cold, as if talking about someone else’s problems and not his own.

“And you didn’t think to tell me?” and there it was—exactly what Liam was trying so hard to avoid. The hurt in Scott’s voice.

The teen shrugged. “Didn’t want to worry you,” Liam admitted. “You already had enough in your plate as it was.”

“Liam I-”

“You think I can’t tell???” Liam snapped—hands gripping his own hair and cutting Scott off of whatever he was going to say. Probably something foolish like that they could have gotten to Sacramento faster had he known. But they all heard the lady—they wouldn’t have made it regardless. “I’m a jodding mentally unstable person Scott! It takes one to know one, and I didn’t need more than 5 days with you to tell that you’re depressed!” _And who knew for how long he’d been battling it on his own without success_. “I was a goner anyway Scott. I already knew that… so was it really so wrong for me to want to remember you happy instead?”

“Happy huh, haha… God I’m so stupid,” Scott muttered and when Liam finally turned to look at him Scott’s face was doing that thing where the more he tried to smile the more he looked like he was about to cry. “I can’t believe I failed you so spectacularly again. Even after I promised not to.”

_‘Okay, no. That wasn’t okay. He wasn’t allowed to do that.’_

“Hey, no! You can’t do that!” Liam commanded—moving to kneel in front of Scott and shoving him to get Scott to stop making that face. “You’re not allowed to say you failed, you hear?! Not when, not when— _jod I can’t believe you’re making say this_ —not when you make me feel so jodding normal okay?” Liam yelled at him—hands winding up the front of Scott’s damped shirt as Liam shook him some more. The teen didn’t know what got a hold of him to make Liam act this way but he just _couldn’t hold anything back anymore_. Liam’s secret was out, true. Yet he couldn’t let that be the end of this. So his mouth kept running. And truth be told Liam didn’t want to stop.

“I’m just your regular run-of-the-mill psychopath alright?” Liam stated, bowing his head so that he wouldn’t have to look into Scott’s eyes as the teen continued. “I never had a future to begin with, and my past is filled with nothing but darkness. When I was seven I got diagnosed with schizophrenia. My dad died when I was nine and my mom couldn’t support me on her own so she got with this new guy old enough to be my grandpa! Except he jodding abused me okay?! And I coped with that because for the most part I didn’t remember it!” _‘I couldn’t remember it.’_

“But that all changed when I fled the Dome and had to become some Kingpin’s bitch in order to survive out here!” Liam said—first sob breaking out without his permission. “I had to service them if I wanted to eat Scott! So many had their way with me I can’t even count! But the worst part was when they would kiss my neck and restrain my hands behind my back. Because that triggered memories, Scott! Memories I wish had remained forgotten about similar things happening to me in the Dome. And then there’s you!” Liam exclaimed punching Scott’s chest. “Cheerful, respectful, caring you! And here I thought that if there ever was someone I would be okay with, it’d be you because you make me feel safe. But then it happened again! The very same triggers and it’s not jodding fair Scott! It’s n-not! Because if it’s not with you then with jodding who?”

“Liam-”

“Oh and let’s not forget about the fact that you’re jodding hetero!” Liam yelled not letting Scott interrupt him. “No, don’t try to deny it! Last night we slept jodding snuggled together and you didn’t even get half-hard despite that! And believe me _I tried_ getting reactions from you by being inappropriate while you slept but nothing so it’s not like we were ever going to work! But guess what Scott? I don’t really jodding mind it because just being around you is enough! Scott, you’re enough,” Liam mumbled—resting his forehead on Scott’s left shoulder. The teen was trembling now. “You’re enough to make me happy so don’t you jodding dare erase all that by saying that you failed me when just seeing your jodding smile makes everything I’ve been through worth it.” 

And as Liam said that he felt himself being pulled forward as Scott wrapped Liam in his arms and hugged the human tight to him. And Liam couldn’t okay? Liam climbed onto Scott’s lap and let himself be embraced by him.

“Of course you’re worth it Liam,” Scott mumbled against the teen’s neck. “I didn’t-”

“Just don’t say you failed me okay?” Liam whispered—the side of his face resting on Scott’s shoulder as everything in Scott’s body language spoke of wanting to take care of Liam. How could Scott ever think that Liam would fault him for anything? “You’re not allowed to Scott, you hear me? You’re not.”

“Okay… I won’t,” Scott spoke with some difficulty yet softly as he seemed to breath Liam in. One of Scott’s hands eventually made its way up to ruffle Liam’s hair and stayed there—gently massaging the teen’s scalp. Yet it still felt like they were walking on eggshells. That is until Scott opened his mouth again. “For the record though, I’m sorry I didn’t get a boner for you.”

“For Shepherd’s sake Scott,” Liam protested, pushing away from the werewolf to glare at him face to face. “Only you would apologize for something like that.”

“I’m being serious,” Scott said trying to stave off his grin. “I’m a defective Neanderthal. I’d only ever gotten hard for two people in my life,” he announced and Liam just knew Scott was going to make some terrible joke. “The first one was bone at first sight, thought her the love of my life. And the second one took some cuddles to get there but then it was bone city painted passion red all the time for centuries! Otherwise I’m broken man, so don’t take my lack of hardness as a reflection of your level of sexiness okay? I personally think you’re very cute even if you stink.”

“Jod off!” Liam objected as he pushed off Scott’s lap—rolling to sit petulantly next to the werewolf with the blanket draped securely around him and not offering Scott any. Liam tried not to give too much thought to what Scott said about himself as he probably said it in jest. Because yeah, depression certainly had a lot to do with draining someone’s sexual appetite but… that wasn’t the only way to explain Scott’s situation if true.

“Scott?” Liam started again. “Have you ever taken the time to discover yourself? Like to really understand yourself?” the teen asked, genuinely wanting to know. For someone who had roamed the world for so long you would think it a given; but if Scott somehow managed to spent all that time worrying about others—and by now that seemed very conceivable—then maybe… _‘Agh, I can’t let myself be distracted with these futile thoughts.’_ “You know what, forget I asked.”

“Liam…” Scott began before he thought better of it and simply scooted closer—wrapping an arm around Liam’s shoulders and pulling the teen closer to him again. Liam let his head lay on Scott’s shoulder again as they both went back to staring at the fire. “I haven’t given up yet,” Scott said then—squeezing Liam shoulder as if to reassure him. “There’s still time, right? I’ll just keep searching. Even if I have to swim my way to the Calisto Islands to find your meds, I will. Your symptoms don’t start showing on the dot, right?” he asked to which Liam remained silent. “We still have time. And even if we don’t then I’ll just hold your hand the rest of the way until we do because I’m not leaving you alone with this, got it? It’s you and me. I promise.”

 _‘Oh Scott… with that kind of conviction how can I tell you that my hallucinations already started?’_ Liam thought. He wanted to be truthful but at the same time he didn’t want Scott getting depressed again. Alas Liam took the coward’s way out.

“Tell me the story behind your cooper lighter,” Liam said, deflecting.

“That’s an odd request,” answered Scott, and Liam could tell Scott was a little disheartened that Liam had moved past his words so quickly. But better that than the alternative. “It’s not a very fun story either,” he diminished.

“Not even if I offer to share my blanket with you if you do?” Liam negotiated, smiling when Scott chuckled.

“That’s not fair. It was my blanket first,” the werewolf countered, shaking the teen a little. It was kinda surreal how good they were getting at brushing the bad off and only focusing on the good. “But okay, here we go. Clean your ears ‘cause it’s going to be a short one!” he announced, making a big spectacle of it. “It all started in the year 3454 when I met this young tattoo artist who was funny and great and we had bombass conversation about the weather!”

“And he was the me that came before me,” Liam added. And when Scott didn’t immediately resume his story Liam rolled his eyes. “Come on Scott, I already know that you don’t introduce yourself to anybody who isn’t me. You think I wouldn’t figure out that I was your friend?”

“Good point,” Scott ceded—though he didn’t sound quite as energetic as before. “Then I should probably tell you that his name was Cylan so it doesn’t get confusing.” _‘Aah, so the one with the virgin sounding name was a tattoo artist. Good to know he wasn’t a complete loser then.’_ “He, well, after a year of traveling together he kinda find out that I heal fast—inhumanly fast—after an accident involving a plasma gun… shot at him… that I took for him… yeah. And it kinda spooked him. But he didn’t say anything about it and just kinda waited until I fell asleep to bathe me in gasoline and light me on fire.”

 _‘Wait what?’_ “What?” Liam asked stunned by that unexpected turn the story took. The human pulled away from Scott and stared at him in shock. “He tried to kill you?”

“No big deal. I’m immortal and all remember?” Scott excused while scratching himself behind the ear.

“Scott that’s not the point.”

“ _The point is_ that after that I knew I had to cut my visit short,” he explained pushing ahead of the heavy parts like he had become accustomed to doing. “But then, sixty years later almost by a struck of luck, I stumbled on him again while on Sur Americana-”

“Stop,” Liam pleaded not being able to take it. Liam didn’t care if no actual harm could ever come to Scott from it; _this couldn’t be healthy for him!_ Scott didn’t count with an easy escape like everyone else so if he was ever going to learn to move on from things _then he needed to stop disconnecting himself from the facts and start facing them head on._ “I don’t know if you noticed Scott, but you touch the side of your eyebrow every time you lie—which you just did. It’s a tell, and that means you were lying about stumbling on Cylan again,” Liam accused. “Come on Scott, you track people by scent! There’s no way you stumbled upon him again unless you were looking for him.”

It gave Liam absolutely no satisfaction to watch Scott’s face as the werewolf was caught in a lie with nothing to say. But someone needed to call Scott out on this. And if not Liam then how many thousands of years will have to pass until another version of him does? How much more will Scott’s depression have eaten of him by then?

Scott stared down at the hand that gave him away like if he was meeting it for the first time before balling it and putting it down. “It’s not as simple as you make it Liam,” he said as if that concluded anything. And although Scott might not be the confrontational type, he was about to learn that Liam was his complete polar opposite.

“Then uncomplicated it for me Scott,” Liam pushed. “Tell me why you went back looking for Cylan 60 years after he tried to kill you? Was it for revenge? Was it out of worry? Did you want to have a good laugh at him and give him a good scare? Or did you just wanted him to finish the job?” Liam questioned. “Scott you can’t just swipe something like this under as if it was nothing.” _How was Scott going to heal if he kept doing that?_

“Do you know about the Zombie Epidemic?” Scott asked, ignoring Liam’s questions yet again. The teen was trying not to let that infuriate him.

“Yes, I know about the Zombie War but what does that have to do with any-”

“Then tell me how it ended,” Scott said speaking over Liam. The latter scowled at the former but decided to play along for now.

“Survivors took haven in the Domes and once inside they closed their doors to the outside and sent out soldiers to terminate the threat. It took nine years to completely eradicate the infected. But once that happened the citizens decided to stay inside the Domes instead of trying to rebuilt the world outside again. I’m 3rd generation of the people that took refuge in the Domes.”

“And do you know what happened to the soldiers that fought your war for you?” Scott asked. Liam opened his mouth to answer yet found himself stumped. “Do you, Liam?”

Liam actually didn’t remember that part being covered in history class. He had always assumed that the soldiers returned home to their families but that doesn’t make any sense now that Liam really thought about it. For that to have happened the Domes must have a program that allowed entry to its walls but for the life of him Liam couldn’t remember a single instance where something like that has occurred. So he shook his head.

“That’s because they never made it back,” Scott informed with blunt finality. “Soldiers were sent out to fight off the epidemic, but that meant putting themselves at risk of contracting the infection themselves. So all of them had a chip inserted to the back of their skulls to regulate their biorhythm just incase. Except it wasn’t really programed for that. The moment the war ended the leaders at the Domes decided that it would be too much effort to bring the soldiers back to be quarantined until the risk of contamination subsided. Instead they signaled the chips to detonate and kill all their remaining soldiers as a safety precaution.”

“That can’t be-”

“It was,” Scott stated firmly. “The soldiers that protected the Domes from the Zombies were terminated by the very same government they fought for. I’ve seem countless examples of similar actions throughout my life and it never stops. The human race as a whole is very determined when it comes to destroying itself. _They never learn_. Before the Zombies we were 200 million, now we’re less that 12 million. At that rate who knows what will happen to humanity in the next hundred years? I sure didn’t. For all I knew Cylan could’ve been the last time I ever met you… can you blame _me_ for not wanting my last memory of you to be of green fire?” he questioned more to himself than Liam. Then Scott shrugged before continuing.

“So yeah I went looking for Cylan. I just wanted to see him one last time and make sure that at least he was happy. But what I found was he living in a secluded barn, alone, not being able to even feed himself because of dementia. He didn’t even remember me. So I stayed and took care him. Then one day he gifted me his cooper lighter, the very same one he used to set me on fire. He called it his biggest mistake even though he did not quite remember what he did with it. But he wanted me to take it and do some good with it. I promised him I would and I guess that was enough to help him find peace because he died in his sleep the very next morning… I thought I lost you forever then.”

And Scott held on to that lighter tight as if he was protecting his own heart because it was the last remnants of hope he had left in this world. But then came Liam and Scott had to make peace with the fact that he was never going to get the chance to meet that new version of his friend because Liam lived inside a Dome. Only Liam fled from there, and they met, and Scott gave up that lighter—something he treasured—to try to make Liam’s life better. Except they had nothing to show for it now.

Before they called it a night and went to sleep, another unspoken revelation crept up on Liam.

The fact that Scott delayed their meeting until Liam turned nineteen; the fact that Scott never slept the first nights he spent with Liam; the fact that Liam witnessed Scott crying as the werewolf played with the cooper lighter; the fact that Scott reacted badly when Liam flicked a lighter on in front of his face. They were all related.

Scott was never scared of fire. _‘He was scared of me.’_ All this time it was Liam who caused Scott pain. For all Liam knew he might _still_ be causing Scott pain just by being near the werewolf. Yet Scott chose to endure it. Because Liam’s welfare came first to Scott. Always Liam’s. Never Scott’s. Scott was indeed the most selfless person Liam had ever known.

~~And nothing the teen did could ever make up for it.~~

~x~x~

_The white room was as empty as ever. This time around there was no sound, no struggle. Just Liam and a woman about his age standing meters apart but facing each other. Her skin was cream-colored and her shoulder-length hair the darkest brown. Her stance was firm—like that of a warrior—and her hold on her bow steady. Yet her eyes were wet with tears as she aimed an arrow to Liam’s chest._

_For some reason Liam felt like she wasn’t crying for herself but for someone else. And that alone made Liam start crying too, which was so unlike him. Liam wasn’t very good at feeling any kind of empathy for strangers, so this marked new territory for him. And even though her lips did not move as she let the arrow fly, Liam still heard her plea in his head._

_**Bring him back. Please, bring him back.** _

~x~x~

“You sure you don’t want to come with me?” Scott asked the following morning as Liam turned down the offer to go hunting for breakfast again. “You can’t deny that we make a good team,” he insisted.

Liam took a moment to study Scott, _to really look at him_. If anything the constant traveling in the open has been good to his skin. Scott looked much tanner than he was when Liam had first met him and the color looked good on him. Healthy. He was clean-shaven, just like Liam liked him to be, and his brown eyes sparkled with a life that had almost been snuffed out last night. Scott looked pure—untouched by any of the genetic apps that were so fashionable in the Domes. No one who looked at him would recognize the mental warfare that plagued his head. He was so easy to misread as happy-go-lucky when he was like that. The fact that Liam probably would have not known better had Scott not revealed his werewolf status still boggled the teen’s mind.

“We do,” Liam said putting on a smile before puffing the air out of his lungs. “But I’m starting to think it’d be safer for me if I don’t expose myself to danger from now on,” Liam stated, tapping his head twice with a finger to get the message across. “Besides I lost my crossbow, remember?”

Scott nodded, seeming to find reason in Liam’s arguments even if the werewolf seemed reluctant about leaving Liam on his own for any amount of time. “Alright,” Scott said reaching behind his back and pulling out the machete before offering it to the teen. “Just in case,” he muttered.

The blue-eyed human smiled for real that time as he reached for its pommel. “You just don’t know when to stop worrying do you?” Liam asked.

Scott shrugged as he returned the smile. “Can’t help it. It’s who I am,” the werewolf declared before landing a hand to Liam’s shoulder and squeezing it. Liam rolled his eyes and went for a hug instead—surprising Scott. The werewolf hugged Liam back for a while before pulling away and beaming at the teen again—more determined now. “After breakfast we’re going to start heading south to Sur Americana and search for your meds there okay? This isn’t over, you can trust me in that.”

Liam nodded and watched Scott leave as Liam himself flopped down on the ground and got a head-start folding everything back into the duffels now that they had time to dry. Frankly Liam probably would’ve stayed there waiting for Scott if it wasn’t for the wailings starting up again. This time stronger than Liam ever heard them.

The wailings were coming from the northwest. _‘From Beacon Hills’_ Liam’s mind supplied. And it was only then that he remembered Alicia Boyd’s words to him. About none of them ever being there for Scott. Of how Liam would eventually die and leave Scott behind just as broken as he was the day they met. Then Liam remembered Scott’s own words about not knowing if Liam will be reborn again with the way the world’s population kept decreasing. _‘There had to be a limit to that, right?’_

Somehow that was enough to push Liam into making a decision. 

According to Boyd, while Beacon Hills was a dangerous place for supernaturals, it was also the place where they most gathered. Unlike Scott, Liam wasn’t supernatural. And unlike Scott, Liam had no qualms about traveling to the werewolf’s hometown.

Scott said he didn’t know much about his curse but he sure appeared convinced about needing a Banshee to help him figure it out. Yet as Boyd proved, Scott was incapable of spotting them himself until it was too late. However the same didn’t apply for Liam. If Liam could somehow find a Banshee for Scott and convince her to reveal herself to him then maybe… maybe that could be the difference Scott needed to start uncovering the secrets behind his curse. Maybe this could be what helps him start moving forward with his life.

Even if that road led to Liam’s premature death; at least it’d be worth it if he can manage to wrench Scott from the downward spiral the werewolf been in. That could be Liam’s biggest and final gift to Scott. The thing that would make them even.

With that in mind Liam slung his duffel over his shoulder with his left hand and gripped the machete with his right. Liam gave Scott’s direction one last glance before tucking his head down and running to the opposite direction.

_‘Goodbye Scott… and thank you for always being in my life. But it’s about time I gave you something back in return._

~x~x~

Hail of fire rained down on Liam from the neon pink sky as he tried to find cover under the ladle trees that grew in this glassware forest. Skeletal herons laughed at Liam as ladle after ladle bended away from the human as he got under them. Liam’s foot hit a root and he stumbled to the ground, which morphed, into a giant tongue. _‘Jod it’s trying to eat me!’_

Liam slashed at it with his machete before dodge rolling to his side as another fireball fell near him. He needed to get out of this forest fast. As if by magic, a castle materialized in the far distance and Liam knew that if he made it there he’d somehow be safe. So to there Liam dashed, sprinting to his safe-haven with all his might even as the men in the skull masks returned and started giving him chase. They had played this game for more than three hours now. It was ridiculous how persistent the skull men were.

Unfortunately, before Liam could reach the castle gates, one of those masked men grabbed his left arm. However before it could do anything Liam spun around and slashed at it with the machete. Impressively it dodged out of the way but that was enough for Liam to cross the gate. Liam began to relax once inside until he saw that very same masked man jump inside before the gates finished closing. 

Liam slashed and yelled at it to stay away before running further inside the castle. He jumped over a trap floor but before he could pull the lever to activate it Liam was tackled to the ground where they wrestled for the machete. The skull man managed to unarmed Liam only to throw the weapon away from them. Big mistake as Liam took advantage of the slight opening to punch its masked face and topple the man before trying to crawl away. Regrettably the skull man grabbed Liam by the ankle and pulled the teen to him. Liam managed to land a kick to its face but the grip stayed firm. Surprisingly before anything else could happen, torches alighted from all around and the man in the skull mask released Liam. The skull man started gripping the sides of its head as if convulsing from pain. 

It turned its head toward Liam and then its eye sockets glowed purple. And just like that the illusion disappeared and Liam was alone with Scott in what looked like a warehouse. There was no castle and no men in skull masks, probably no firestorm and no trees made out of spoons either. It was all in Liam’s head and he had fallen victim to it until Scott had to come rescue him. Except Scott was now writhing on the floor with his hands on both ears and Liam didn’t know why. Yet before Liam could move to do or say anything, an EMD Stick touched his shoulder and he was electrocuted until he fainted.

~x~x~

When Liam opened his eyes again he was in the same endless white room with twelve other men surrounding him. Two of them were middle aged, one was barely a toddler, three were seniors, and the other six were all closer to Liam’s age—even if one of those six resembled a girl with extremely long hair. It felt like a bizarre sense of Déja Vu when Liam realized that they were all him. His previous reincarnations. The illusion faded the moment Liam blinked and found himself in a smaller metallic room—still spacious but nowhere near as endless. Liam was still surrounded by twelve people but they weren’t the kind he wanted to see.

Liam panicked when he noticed Scott slumped on the other side of the room—chained to the wall by the wrists—but Liam quickly found out that he himself was also gagged with his wrists tied together over his lap.

“Easy there,” Liam heard a familiar voice say from behind as an ionic dagger pressed dangerously close to his neck. Liam glanced to his side and saw Son’s smirking face as the hunter combed a loose strand of black hair behind his ear.

_‘Silver Corp?’_

A door opened behind Liam and in came Don flanked by four more of his lackeys. All armed to the teeth. Not with crossbows this time but with actual guns. “Kick him awake,” Don ordered and two of his goons started to beat on Scott. Liam tried to stop them but Son gripped Liam’s hair and pulled the teen back harshly before twirling the dagger in front of Liam’s face to help remind Liam of his position. _‘What have I gotten us into?’_

The blows stopped coming when Scott started coughing, and it only took him a second to survey the entire room before landing his brown eyes on the ionic dagger beneath Liam’s jaw. His expression narrowed in rage.

“What’s going on here?” Scott demanded. “I thought you said you wouldn’t pursue us if we escaped your facility so why- _arrgh!_ ”

Scott started recoiling in agony again until Don’s thumb unclasped the tiny device he had in his hand. “Such a nifty little thing this one,” Don said with a pleased tone. “One press of the button and it emits a sound in a frequency no human can hear but tortures animals. Exactly the effect that one would expect it to have on such a beast as **the Sigma Wolf**.”

Liam saw Scott’s eyes widen at that title as the werewolf struggled to get on his knees again. “That name… you- you can’t be,” he uttered, horror-struck.

“Aw I see you’re starting to figure it out,” crooned Don as he handed the sound device to one of his guards and traded it for an EMD Stick. How could a blind man be trusted with such a weapon Liam did not care to find out. “It is true that at first your name didn’t evoke anything from me. Yet after that gory escape of yours I just knew I’d find you if I consulted the bestiary, and oh the rapture I felt when it turned out your name was not only there but at the zenith of our most wanted list. The most prized, sought-after target between all the hunting clans. The True Alpha, the immortal responsible for almost extinguishing our family name from the pages of history by murdering our leaders. **Scott McCall!** ”

“That’s not-”

“Quiet!” Don ordered as he shocked Scott with the EMD Stick. Liam wanted to scream at the way Scott’s body violently trashed during the blow— _the dial was set all the way up to kill!_

“We’re the Argents,” stated Son dully compared to his father’s lurid exposition. “More specifically we are Silver Corp, a covert agency found by our matriarch ancestor, Kate Argent, to unearth the higher ranking supernaturals and terminate them before they had a chance to overtake us. Our success rate is unparalleled,” he recited before pulling Liam’s hair back exceptionally hard and forcing a whimper out of the teen. “Don’t worry, **beta**. We haven’t forgotten about you.”

“But of course!” exclaimed Don, voice booming in such enclosed quarters. “Young Liam, whose immortal soul is forever trapped in the clutches of the one he once called his Alpha. Don’t worry my child for we have come to free you from his curse.”

_‘Free me?’_

“What do you mean?” spat Scott—his breathing slowly coming under control. “Do you, do you know about Liam?”

“About his multiple reincarnations?” questioned Don, frowning. “Am I to presume that you don’t know it yourself?” he continued before a thunderous laugh escaped his mouth making the rest of his subordinates join in laughing at Scott’s expense. “This is too jodding maximus! The Sigma Wolf, the manipulative mastermind, playing ignorance with us! Hysterical!” he chortled—some of his lackeys holding their stomachs as they hooted until Don held three fingers up to silence them.

“Listen here you filthy animal,” Don started, charging the EMD Stick again. “We know all about your tricks. How you killed your entire pack—including our leaders—to gain powers beyond that of an Alpha. How you drained the life-force of both a kitsune and a nogitsune to steal their immortality. How you would have brought the destruction of the world if it weren’t for our ancestors stepping in and chasing after you! And _yesss_! We know all about your sole beta. The only one you’ve bitten. The one you kill every time to harness its power,” he accused and Liam’s eyes widen—locking them back on Scott. 

“That’s not-”

“Silence!” Don shouted again, zapping Scott once more before turning to Liam—a placid grin on his face. “I bet you didn’t know did you? How your connection to him brings back your soul from the dead, never letting you find rest eternal. How every time you are reborn anew he finds you, grooms you for 4 to 5 years until you are at your peak potential, and then kills you to sustain his power until you’re reborn again. A perfectly endless vicious cycle if there ever was one.”

“Liam, don’t listen! They aren’t te- AaaRGhH!” 

Two of Don’s subordinates shocked Scott again at Don’s signal and stayed doing so until Don lowered his fingers again. His empty sockets displayed amusement just as well as eyes would have done.

“But not you worry Young Liam because we come to grant you freedom from your curse,” Don stated and Liam stilled his breathing as the headhunter approached. “You see we have a hypothesis,” he explained. “The only reason your soul is dragged back to this surface world is because it is the only one connected to the Sigma Wolf’s. An Alpha needs his Beta and since _you_ are the only beta he ever bitten, his _True Beta_ , your soul always comes back to serve his,” Don rationalized before a sinister grin spread across his marred face. “But what would happen if he bit another? One bite given in his current immortal state?” he questioned. “Why I bet that beta would be even more powerful and it would take precedence over the former, no?”

Scott let out a low growl then. “You monster, you just want the bite for yourself don’t you?”

“If I were you I’d be careful of who I call a monster,” Don replied as he gave yet another signal to electrocute Scott. This time Scott bit down his scream. “But yes,” Don conceded. “If that’s the only way to make sure someone will always be there to confine you then I’m willing to make the sacrifice,” he stated. “Now that we finally caught you you’ll be locked away in a dungeon where electric currents will keep you from shifting. Me and my descendants will guard you forever and ever until it comes a time when me killing you will have a permanent effect. _That will be our vengeance!_ ”

Liam glanced at Scott as the werewolf slumped against the wall. Scott’s entire body shook as he lifted his head to meet Liam’s blue gaze. The chains shouldn’t be strong enough to keep someone like Scott restrained; so the only reason he hadn’t broken free was because Liam was being held as leverage against him. That alone was all Liam needed to know to dismiss all of Don’s claims about Scott. Because Scott cared about Liam. The teen knew that for a truth and would never again question it. And since it was Liam that got them into this mess then it was Liam himself who needed to figure out a way to break free because there was _no way_ he was allowing them to torture Scott because of him. Liam wouldn’t let Scott go through that again.

 _‘Fight!’_ Liam tried to convey with his eyes but Scott just shook his head—eyes dropping to the ionic dagger near Liam’s jugular.

“Open his mouth,” Don commanded as his underlings tried to get Scott to scream again by electrocution but to no effect as Scott fought to clamp it down. “Unbroken are you? Let’s find out for how long that will lasts. Son?”

At Don’s cue Son buried the dagger in Liam’s right leg making the teen scream in pain against the gag. Scott’s chains rattled as he tried to get up only to writhe in agony as the sound device was turned on again. Tears were welling Liam’s eyes as their gaze met again. Liam didn’t want Scott to give into them but Scott’s expression was one of apology. And of course Liam should have seen that coming!

Scott would do anything for Liam’s safety; even renounce his own. As long as Liam was being held hostage Scott wouldn’t retaliate. But if Scott went along with their plans and the bite took… No, Liam couldn’t let that happen. Liam couldn’t allow the hunters to break their connection. Scott’s psyche was already too damaged as it was. To have Scott spent the rest of eternity without that spark of hope that helped him hold on to his sanity for so long… _‘Never!’_

Biting down on the gag with all his strength, Liam knew what he needed to do. If the two of them were ever going to make it out of this then Liam needed to take Don out first. Liam threw his head back and connected with Son’s nose—making him drop the dagger. Liam grabbed it with bound hands and charged forward—fighting through the disabling pain in his leg as he aimed for their leader.

“Father no!”

**_BANG!_ **

“You dim idiot!” Don scolded as Liam hit the ground. “You weren’t supposed to shoot him until after I turned!”

After that all Liam could focus on was the sharp pain in his chest. However Liam still managed to hear an ear-shattering howl not unlike that first one he heard four years ago. Except now Liam could feel its desperation. And then the world went black.

~x~x~

Liam slipped in and out of consciousness and was vaguely aware of someone dragging him away from all the noise—gun shots—and into another room where the sound wasn’t as loud.

“You’re my ticket out here you worthless dome-bred piece of shit.”

_‘Son.’_

~x~x~

More shouting could be heard. “The boss is dead!” and it took Liam a second to realize that he no longer had a gag around his mouth. So Liam whimpered in pain as he was jostled again. Liam blacked out again at the distant roar that followed.

~x~x~

“Liam! Liam! Please, Liam. Open your eyes! Liam, please. Open them.”

The teen regained consciousness once again only to find Scott hovering over him—caked in blood and bullet wounds.

“You’re hurt,” Liam whispered, eyes dropping to Scott’s arms which were covered in black veins. The werewolf was holding Liam’s left hand with both of his. Scott was trying to heal him. Liam began to cry. “Scott-”

“Shhh, you’re going” _sniff_ “you are going to be okay. N-No one can hurt you now. We’ll” _sob_ “make it through.”

“Scott I can’t feel anything.”

“No, no, no, don’t say that,” he pleaded and jod Liam had never heard Scott sound so broken. “I’d barely gotten to know you. There’s so much time we have left to spend together. Y-You’ll be fine. Just gotta fight- fight through it.”

But Liam couldn't…

_‘…jodding grat feces on a stick, I’m losing.’_

“I’m sorry for leaving,” Liam struggled to say—his voice almost inaudible. “I should’ve stayed, with you.”

“Liam, shhh, it’s okay. It’s o-okay,” Scott assured, clutching Liam’s hand tighter.

_'It isn’t though… I… wasn’t going to luck out of this one.'_

For as long Liam could remember he didn’t think a feeling like this one existed. Not in their world at least. Yeah you might meet someone and bond with them. But you do so knowing that eventually one of you is going to bite the bullet and when that happens all you can do is light a match in their name and move on. There was no sense in attaching yourself to someone who was not going to be there. And Liam probably would have died thinking that way if he hadn’t met Scott. Because looking at Scott now—feeling so despondent as Liam watched Scott weep for him—expression distraught as Scott pleaded for the teen to hold out longer. And Liam, wishing he could’ve given Scott everything he deserved. Liam knew he felt it… that feeling existed.

So Liam tried smiling for Scott—and with the last of his strength—Liam tried voicing what he discovered about himself. “I love you Scott.”

Liam wanted Scott to promise to find him sooner next time around but Liam could no longer form the words. Everything started to fade after that. All that remained was the faint sounds of Scott’s calling the teen’s name… and then… a sharp pain under the wrist.

~x~x~

_Somehow Liam found himself, on his hands and knees, back in the empty white room. The lights were flickering on and off as—just like Liam—they seemed to be losing the battle to fight off the inevitable._

_**-Because the remains of my strength are being used to preserve yours-** _

_“Who said that?” Liam asked weakly—not bothering to lift his gaze from the floor. Liam sat back on his heels and waited for a stranger to come and try to steal his life again. Liam had already grown tired of this routine. Except instead of a person, it was a tree stump that appeared right in front of Liam’s eyes._

_**-Time is running out. My power can extend yours. Grant you one last chance. But first you must pledge to bringing him to me.** _

_“Another chance? What do you mean?”_

_**-My strength is fading. Not much longer in this world. Cannot wait for the next cycle of your rebirth. You are my only connection to him-** _

_“To him?”_

_**-Pledge to me you will bring him back and the time you need for his gift to take shall be granted-**_

_“What gift?” Liam asked as more than half of the lights burned out. “And who? Who is it you want?” The remaining lights flickered off completely and Liam was left alone in the darkness. He wrapped his arms around himself, not knowing what came next, yet resigned to his fate under death’s cold embrace. And that’s when Liam saw it._

_Eyes that glowed red._

**00o00o00o00o00**

_“I'm trying to help. You're cursed, Scott. You know, and it's not just that the moon will cause you to physically change. It also just so happens to be when your bloodlust will be at its peak.”_

_“Bloodlust?”_

_“Yeah, your urge to kill.”_

_“I'm already starting to feel an urge to kill, Stiles.”_

_“You gotta hear this. -The change can be caused by anger or anything that raises your pulse.- All right? I haven't seen anyone raise your pulse like Allison does. You gotta cancel this date. I'm gonna call her right now.”_

_“What are you doing?”_

_“I'm canceling the date.”_

_“No!”_

**00o00o00o00o00**

_“What, are you following me now?”_

_“Yes, you stupid freaking idiot. You almost gave away everything, right there.”_

_“What are you talking about?”_

_“He thinks you're the second beta. He thinks you're me! Now he thinks that there's something wrong and now I have to keep an eye on you so he doesn't kill you too!”_

_“This is your problem, not mine, okay? I didn't say anything, which means you're the one that's gonna get me killed. Okay, this is your fault.”_

**00o00o00o00o00**

_“Come on, she knows. She knows? Listen, dumb ass, I'm gonna let you in on a secret that most guys don't even have a clue about, all right? You ready? Women love words.”_

_“Huh?”_

_“You need to tell her how you feel. Just say it. Say it again. Say it differently. Learn how to say it better. Learn how to sing it. You know, just write it in a poem and a letter attached to flowers, carve it in a tree, in a sidewalk with cement - tattoo it on your arm.”_

_“Really?”_

_“No. Not really. Just - Tell her the truth. Tell her - anything and everything you want.”_

_“Everything?”_

**00o00o00o00o00**

_“He's going after Allison and her family. He's going to kill them.”_

_“So what?”_

_“So tell me how to stop him.”_

_“You want me to risk my life for your girlfriend? For your stupid little teenage crush that means absolutely nothing? You're not in love, Scott. You're 16 years old. You're a child!”_

_“Maybe you're right. But I know something you don't. Peter said he didn't know what he was doing when he killed your sister, right? He lied.”_

**00o00o00o00o00**

_“Why does there have to be a next when we've already got you?”_

_“Who's next?”_

_“You know, I never knew what I looked like during a seizure until someone took a video of me once and put it online.”_

_“I don't care.”_

_“It happened during class. I started seizing in my desk and everyone was saying how they should put something in my mouth until some genius reads the card on my key ring which tells him not to 'cause it could break my teeth.”_

_“Erica…”_

_“Do you know what happens next? I piss myself. And they start laughing. You know, the only good thing about seizures was that I never remembered them. Until some brilliant jerkoff had to go and put cameras in everybody's phone. But look at me now, Scott. Oh, that's right. You only have eyes for her.”_

**00o00o00o00o00**

_“Boyd. I just wanna talk. Hey, come on, Boyd, please. Did Derek tell you everything? And I don't just mean going out of control on the full moons. I mean everything.”_

_“He told me about the hunters.”_

_“And that's not enough for you to say no? Whatever you want there's other ways to get it.”_

_“I just wanna not eat lunch alone every day.”_

_“If you're looking for friends, you can do a lot better than Derek.”_

**00o00o00o00o00**

_“They're leaving tonight, during the game.”_

_“So, why are you telling me?”_

_“I'm not telling you. I'm asking you. I'm asking for your advice.”_

_“From me? Why?”_

_“Because I trust you.”_

_“Why?”_

_“Because you always seem to want to do the right thing.”_

**00o00o00o00o00**

_“Scott, I'm trying to break up with you.”_

_“I know. And it's okay.”_

_“How is that okay?”_

_“Because I can wait.”_

_“I can't make you wait for me. I'm not going to do that.”_

_“You don't have to. Because I know we're gonna be together.”_

_“There's no such thing as fate.”_

_“There's no such thing as werewolves.”_

**00o00o00o00o00**

_“Just curious, is there a reason the gun is still pointed at me?”_

_“Well, there's probably still some part of me that wants to shoot you.”_

_“I get that.”_

_“Scott, I watched my father brainwash my daughter... Almost turn her into a killer. That world... your world decimated mine. My wife, sister, father, my entire family. Why would I ever step foot in it again?”_

_“Because people are going to die. And because you know how to catch Boyd and Cora without killing them.”_

**00o00o00o00o00**

_“Every time I try to fight back, it just gets worse. People keep getting hurt. People keep getting killed.”_

_“Scott, listen to me, okay? This isn't you, all right? This is someone inside your head telling you to do this. Okay?”_

_“What if it isn't? What if it is just me? What if doing this is actually the best thing that I could do for everyone else? It all started that night, the night I got bitten. You remember the way it was before that? You and me, we were... we were... we were nothing. We weren't popular. We weren't good at lacrosse. We weren't important. We were no one. Maybe I should just be no one again. No one at all.”_

_“Scott, just listen to me, okay? You're not no one. Okay? You're someone, you're... Scott, you're my best friend. Okay? And I need you. Scott, you're my brother. All right, so... so if you're gonna do this, then... I think you're just gonna have to take me with you. All right?”_

**00o00o00o00o00**

_“Why are you even talking to me? I helped kill your friend. How do you know I'm not gonna kill another one?”_

_“We're talking to you because I know that you didn't want to kill Boyd. And I think that if something like that happened now, you wouldn't do it again.”_

**00o00o00o00o00**

_“I thought you were going home.”_

_“I can't. I don't know why I am the one that keeps finding the bodies, but maybe if I just stopped trying to fight it, I'd find them before it happens, maybe with enough time for someone like you to do something about it.”_

_“You get me the time, and I'll do something about it. I swear to God, I will.”_

**00o00o00o00o00**

_“You need a pack. We need an Alpha.”_

_“Why would I say yes?”_

_“We add strength. We make you more powerful. There’s no reason to say no.”_

_“Sorry, but they don’t trust you. And neither do I.”_

**00o00o00o00o00**

_“How are you so okay with all of this? I showed you a picture that would send anybody else running the other way.”_

_“It didn't look that bad to me.”_

_“I look like a demon from hell.”_

_“I guess I saw something different.”_

_“What did you see?”_

_“It kind of looks like it's, uh, protecting you. Kind of like armor. And it doesn't look like a demon to me.”_

_“What do you think it looks like?”_

_“It looks like a fox.”_

**00o00o00o00o00**

_“I can’t. I can’t take your pain.”_

_“It's because it doesn't hurt.”_

_“No.”_

_“It's okay.”_

_“Allison.”_

_“It's okay. It's okay. It's okay… It's perfect. I'm in the arms of my first love. The first person I ever loved. The person I'll always love... I love you. Scott. Scott McCall.”_

_“Don't, please, don't. Allison don't, please.”_

**00o00o00o00o00**

_“What happens after that?”_

_“Not my problem.”_

_“You don't care?”_

_“Do you? She's a mass murderer.”_

_“And you're a mercenary.”_

_“Girl's gotta eat.”_

_“If you were paid enough, would you kill her?”_

_“If the money was good, I'd kill you.”_

**00o00o00o00o00**

_“What are you doing here?”_

_“I heard you were coming to talk to Peter. And since Lydia tells me he's basically Satan in a V-neck, I figured you shouldn't be alone.”_

_“I can handle Peter.”_

_“You can handle him better with me.”_

**00o00o00o00o00**

_“So how are you so good at staying in control on a full moon?”_

_“A lot of it is about making sure that my pulse doesn't get too fast. And my heart rate doesn't go up.”_

_“So you've mastered it?”_

_“It still takes a lot of concentration.”_

_“So if something distracts you...”_

_“I'm indistractable!”_

_“Then why are your eyes glowing?”_

_“Cheater.”_

**00o00o00o00o00**

_“They can't know about this. My mom, my stepdad, I can't do this to them again.”_

_“What do you mean again?”_

_“I got kicked out of school and I deserved it. The way they looked at me when they saw what I did to that car...”_

_“Liam, it's okay.”_

_“T-They can't see me like this.”_

_“Like a monster? …You're not a monster. You're a werewolf. Like me.”_

**00o00o00o00o00**

_“Pathetic. Fight like an Alpha, Scott. You want to defeat me? You’re going to have to kill me!”_

_“You were never an Alpha, Peter. But you were always a monster.”_

**00o00o00o00o00**

_“Derek! Braeden! You don’t have to do this! I can stop them from following after you. I just need time, please!”_

_“Sorry Scott… I need to stop shoving all my problems on your plate. Go graduate, Scott. This one on me. And hey, after I get back… I’ll like to officially become your beta. If you’ll have me.”_

_“I thought you already were.”_

_“Alright, you two got exactly one minute to hug it out and then we’ll leaving.”_

**00o00o00o00o00**

_“Why did you let him go! I fucking hate you!”_

_“Stop trying to claw my eyes out and we’ll talk! Is this about Derek?”_

_“He’s the only family I had left! The only one I h-had.”_

_“No, Cora. Don’t tell me-”_

_“He’s dead Scott! He died and pissed off a lot of people while doing so! And now they are all coming after you!”_

**00o00o00o00o00**

_“Malia stop! We don’t kill people!”_

_“I know Scott! I know you say that but it’s so difficult when they keep coming at us. All the time. They wounded Kira, you know that?! And they would have killed her if it weren’t for the Deputy… How can you do nothing still?”_

_“We are not killers, Malia. That isn’t our way.”_

_“Wrong Scott. That isn’t your way.”_

_“Malia don’t!”_

**00o00o00o00o00**

_“Cough, cough! …I, I probably shouldn’t have done that.”_

_“I don’t get it… then why did you?”_

_“Hey, none of that buddy? No wolfy tears. Just think of it as visiting some friends. I bet Isaac and Allison are dying to grill me about you and poor them when I’m the one that has to tell them that you refused reconstructive surgery for your jaw.”_

_“That’s not funny.”_

_“Nonsense, I’m hilarious! Cough, cough… You just have no appreciation for anything more sophisticated than sex jokes. Like chlamydia. See! That got a chuckle out of you. No one knows you best.”_

_“Stiles-”_

_“Come too think of it Erica and Boyd are going to be there too. They probably had a bet on how long it would take me to kick the bucket—bet they both lost! Oh shit Derek is going to be there too, just my luck. Think Jackson is already there or am I just hankering? Hate to give him the satisfaction of having outlasted me.”_

_“Stiles!”_

_“Right, shrapnel. Piercing my heart at any minute now. Imminent death and no electromagnetic chest piece conveniently lying around. Fun… Hey! Wait, no seriously. I said no wolfy tears remember? Cough cough, just… say you’ll look out for my dad and we’ll call it even.”_

**00o00o00o00o00**

_“What are you doing back here? I mean, you’re back! Why are you back?”_

_“I’ve come to abduct you. We’re going to escape someplace where they can’t get you and wait it out until this all boils over. But you have to come with me now, Scott. We won’t get another chance.”_

_“What about my friends? I can’t leave them to fend for themselves while I save my skin.”_

_“No can do. Too many.”_

_“Then I can’t.”_

_“Scott, so far, for the sake keeping appearances, they've only attacked the ones who retaliated. But just how long do you think that's going to keep them before they decide to start targeting everyone else? It’s every man for themselves and I’m telling you that you need to leave now! You won't get another opportunity after this.”_

_“I’m sorry Ethan but they are- Beacon Hills is my responsibility. I owe it to Derek. I can’t just abandon it.”_

_“Damn… I was afraid you would say that… Fine, stay! But I’m taking Danny with me so… be safe, alright?”_

**00o00o00o00o00**

_“Mom, I’m home! …Mom I got your text, I’m home… Mom? …Mom?! …This isn’t funny Mom- Mom!_

_…M-Mom?”_

**00o00o00o00o00**

_“Liam I’m begging you to leave. It’s not safe here anymore. I can’t protect you if you stay.”_

_“And I’m saying I’m not leaving you! I don’t care where Mr. Argent is going- I want to stay with you!”_

_“You’re not listening. Lydia and Jordan already left to Africa; and Kira is already waiting for Chris to take you to South Korea where she can house you. You won’t be alone.”_

_“But you will! Who’s going to protect you after I leave? Scott I rather die than abandon you, can’t you see that?! …You know what, forget it! Malia was right about you, you’ll never get it!”_

_“Liam! Liam wait, where are you going? Liam wait!”_

**00o00o00o00o00**

_“…Scott?”_

_“Huh? Oh… Lydia. Of course you’d be the one to find me.”_

_“Scott why are you standing over the Nemeton alone out here in the middle of the night? Wait, is that? Scott why do you have a gun in your hand?”_

_“Because it’s me Lydia. It’s always been me. And I’m going to stop it once and for all.”_

_“Scott, listen to me. You’re not thinking rationally right now.”_

_“Aren’t I? All of this happened because Stiles, Allison and me performed the druid ritual and awoken it. Now those two are gone along with Derek, Malia, Isaac, Deaton, Mom, and everyone else! If I had done this sooner then maybe, maybe Liam-”_

_“Liam is not your fault Scott! He chose to give up his life for yours, you know that. So don’t, don’t do this Scott. Don’t make his sacrifice be in vain.”_

_“I. Can’t. Do. That… If I do then they might come after you and your baby next. No, don’t deny it, you’re pregnant. I can smell it on you.”_

_“Scott, listen. Put the gun down and walk toward me. I insist.”_

_“No can do Lydia. I already activated Morrell’s spell—the reverse ritual. If all three of us go then the Nemeton will be disconnected of its power and those things will stop coming after everyone else. Lydia, I have too. It’s the only way.”_

_“No it isn’t Scott. There must be some other way, something we overlooked. Scott, p-please. I can’t lose you too.”_

_“I’m sorry… Listen, Cora is an Alpha now. Once I’m gone I'm sure she’ll come back to take care of this place. You’ll be safe with her.”_

_“Scott, no! Don’t you dare pull that trigger! Scott. Scott! SCOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-“_

~x~x~

“DON’T!!” Liam gasped as he sat up and immediately felt disoriented by the blinding sunlight shining down on his oversensitive skin and the fact that his lungs felt like they’ve been punctured by a thousand needles. Yet all those sensations could only mean one thing. _'I’m alive?'_

“Liam!”

And just like that Liam was being cradled in a tight hug that quickly deteriorated into Scott’s hands examining him all over, checking for fever and whatnot while spouting lots of words that didn’t quite registered. Liam was also feeling downright overwhelmed by the many different odors that jumbled his brain—that the teen failed to realize that this was something he couldn’t do before. However one look into Scott’s eyes and all the visions Liam had came front and center and disabled him completely.

_‘Those were his memories, weren’t them? I was seeing everything through Scott’s eyes.’_

Liam knew he was crying then—what with the way Scott encased Liam’s face and kept wiping the teen’s cheeks with his thumbs. Yet Liam couldn’t stop seeing them. The boy with the moles. The girl with the bow. The boy whose last name was also Boyd. The girl who was the kitsune. The boy Scott had bitten. And most of all, the redheaded girl whose scream still echoed inside Liam’s head shattering his eardrums. 

Just looking at Scott’s warm brown eyes twisted Liam’s guts and Liam just couldn’t process it. Because even though Scott claimed that he was immortal—and that was certainly one way to explain his continuous presence in this world—from what Liam saw he… Scott…

“You killed yourself didn’t you?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CLIFFHANGER!!!
> 
>  
> 
> ~~Please don't kill me~~
> 
>  
> 
> Also, you can go to **http : // alexisdevanne . tumblr . com** (without the spaces) to find extra information about this fanfic such as its timeline and vocabulary. Just write **BWPW** on the blog's search bar.
> 
> Peace!


	7. I’ll be lost until you come and find me Here

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scott & Liam go back to the place where it all started and Scott's final title is revealed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for taking so long updating this one. I got dumped and wasn't feeling particularly productive for a while. I'm somewhat over it now so without further delay I give you the final chapter of **Butterflies With Punctured Wings**!
> 
> Unbeta'd

“You killed yourself didn’t you?”

Those were the words that were left hanging in the air between the two as Scott slowly extricated himself from Liam. They were both sitting on the barren ground—side by side but facing each other—right outside of what looked to be a manmade tunnel. Liam had no jodding clue where Scott had relocated them or why they were outside of it instead of in it. Neither did Liam know how long he had passed out for nor if they were still being chased. But those type of questions seemed of little importance when staring at the shocked eyes of a person who pulled the trigger on his own head.

“Are y-you even alive o-or is that-t a lie too?” Liam asked and jod his voice sounded so small but he just…. Liam was caught between being frightened at the possibility of Scott being an undead all along or crying his eyes out because he could still feel all of Scott’s pent up emotions from his memories as if they were Liam’s own. Scott’s pain, his desperation, his inner anger, the self-blame, his fight, the way his heart broke every time he lost a loved one, his feeling of impotence, his tortured screams, how he drowned in his own self-hate and his despairing need for an escape.

This was more than depression. Scott had been broken in far more ways than Liam had imagined. And now—as Liam looked behind the guilt in those eyes—it was surprisingly easy to uncover those very same emotions still present in Scott’s stare. _‘Just who hated Scott **that much** to cursed him so that a thousand years later he remained stuck on that moment still?’_

“How?” Scott whispered before his gaze traveled down to Liam’s hand- no, to Liam’s wrist. “The bite,” Scott murmured—understanding in his eyes as they became filled with regret. Absentmindedly Liam lifted said hand to hover at a distance in front of his face while Liam’s other hand padded his own chest. Liam had been shot there by Son; he should be wounded. Yet amazingly Liam felt nothing of the sort. Not even a scratch. The same thing true for the skin under Liam’s wrist.

_‘Scott had bitten me, hadn’t he?’_

A last-ditch effort to save Liam. That’s why Liam was still breathing. That’s why he could suddenly smell all these dizzying scents. But for that to hold true then that would mean-

“Please forgive me,” Scott said distracting Liam from his thoughts. Scott was looking at everywhere but Liam and Scott’s lower lip quavered as he tried to find his next words. “I broke my vow. I wasn’t supposed to thrust another person into my world. I can’t blame this one on being an accident either. It wasn’t an impulse. I didn’t know what I was thinking- No, that’s not true. I did. I didn’t want to lose you. I was scared. I was selfish. I was-”

“Jodding stop it already!” Liam yelled between gritted teeth while closing his hand into a tight fist. All of that could wait! Liam didn’t have time for it. “Don’t. Avoid. My question,” he admonished, lowering his fist and fixing his glare on Scott’s eyes. The heat behind it didn’t last—not when Scott, for all intents and purposes, looked like a kicked animal—but Liam still wanted answers.

“I saw,” Liam stated. “The person who bit you. The girl with the bow. The Kitsune. Your friend with the moles that stopped you from burning yourself to death!” _Jod, Liam didn’t even want to begin imagining what went through Scott’s head that time someone he trusted actually tried to burn him alive._ “I saw it all Scott!” Liam explained—voice turning from angry to upset. “While I was unconscious. I saw, I saw me. You lied to me Scott! The bite didn’t kill the first me. I turned!” _It was just like that blind psycho said._ “I was your first beta!”

“And that’s what killed you in the end!” Scott snapped. “If I hadn’t turned you, you might have lived longer without the constant fear of someone coming to kill you. I ruined your life.”

“If you really think that then you’re more clueless than I thought!” Liam shouted back at him. “Maybe you couldn’t get it, but looking at myself through your eyes I _did_ ,” Liam continued to retort. And as the words left his mouth the realization of what he saw dawned on him. “I _loved_ you,” Liam muttered to himself before locking eyes with Scott again. Scott looked just as stunned as Liam sounded by those words. “The first me loved you. He was _in love_ with you. I’ve loved you _from the very beginning_. I was just so scared to tell you and you too blind to see it. That’s why the first me sacrificed himself for you.”

“No,” Scott whispered, voice wavering. “That can’t be…” he said, sounding less confident with every word. “I would have, I would have known… wouldn’t I?” he asked and that’s when the idea hit Liam.

“Tell me Scott,” Liam began, becoming surer of his theory by the second. “From what you know, did any of my previous lives ever settled down? You know, married someone or had children?”

“I…” Scott started before shaking his head diminutively. “No,” he said. “Not that I’m aware off.”

They stayed staring at each other until Liam saw Scott’s eyes slowly widening. Probably on his way to the same conclusion Liam made. All and each of Liam’s previous versions loved Scott in their own unique ways. Yet all of them, for one reason or another, had been scared to act on those feelings. Not one of them had told Scott how they felt. Not even-

_‘Oh jod.’_

“You love me,” Scott stated without question and Liam felt his cheeks aflame. “You said it—just before you closed your eyes and I thought I’d lost you—you said it,” Scott relayed, eyes imploring Liam to understand something Liam wasn’t quite ready to grasp. “And then I bit you-”

“Because you didn’t want to lose me, yeah you said,” Liam held repeating Scott’s previous words and closing his eyes—shouting the next thing that crossed Liam’s mind before Scott had a chance to further develop on that subject.

“Liam-”

“I saw Lydia!” Liam exclaimed quickly, cutting the other off. Liam saw it in Scott’s face; how the latter understood that Liam simply wasn’t ready to hear it until he was able to make sense out of everything else. Liam also saw Scott’s dread and the swift shock of pain that tore through him at the mention of that name. But if Scott really cared about Liam and wasn’t the monster Silver Corp made him out to be then he could bear with it a little longer because the only way Liam would ever be able to stomach seeing Scott’s face again after today was if he provided Liam with the good honest answers Liam needed to make sense out of this whole jodding mess.

“I can still hear her, you know,” Liam said, tapping two fingers to the side of his head. “Her scream, when you shot yourself?” Liam clarified—licking his lips to distract from the fact that his throat felt like it was closing on him. “And then nothing after that,” the teen explained and viciously fought to keep his leveled expression from breaking. ~~Unfortunately from the guiltiness in Scott’s face Liam could tell he wasn’t doing a great job.~~ Yet still… “Scott you **died** ,” Liam stated, stressing the word. “How are you still here?”

What made Scott be unable to pass on? Why was he stuck here?

“Because I didn’t,” Scott replied—short and simple—as he lowered his gaze to the small patch of ground between the two of them.

The silence stretched long after that until Liam realized that Scott wasn’t going to be more forthcoming with his answer- “What do you mean?” Liam asked almost inaudibly—except he knew that Scott caught it. How could he not when Liam himself was busy trying to stop the sounds of Scott’s every inhale and exhale from reverberating through his body? “Scott… please talk to me,” Liam begged.

Scott shut his eyes tightly and his fingers dug into the earth as he took in a long shuddering breath, but he nodded afterwards—even if his features looked pained. “The druid ritual,” Scott said, thinned-lip as he worked the words through his grimace. “It backfired.”

“Scott…” Liam muttered, suddenly reluctant to push for more when it caused Scott that much sorrow but still needing the answers.

“Lydia never much liked her powers,” Scott sped through it, lifting his gaze and focusing it on the tunnel entrance instead. He was stoning his face and deliberately not looking at Liam. Apparently that was the only way Scott would be able to get through his story. Liam however was grateful to at least be able to see Scott’s eyes now. “The ability to predict death, Lydia hated it. She saw no benefit in it if she herself couldn’t do anything to prevent death from happening. Just like me she was tired of seeing her friends die,” he explained, painting a more vivid picture of the sole person with him at the moment he shot himself.

“That night I wanted nothing more than to put an end to it. So I pulled the trigger and she screamed,” Scott said and Liam could see the first chink in the armor Scott put up to protect himself. “I don’t know exactly how it happened because I should have died, I made sure of it. There was enough wolf-bane in that bullet that it should have killed ten of me,” he said and Liam felt a chill in his spine because Scott somehow sounded sadden with the fact that it didn’t. And that unsettled the teen. “My guess is that the spell to strip the Nemeton from its power started taking effect at that moment and we were both caught in the blast of it.”

“Maybe it was because I wasn’t completely committed in my choice of sealing the Nemeton,” Scott continued. “Maybe I was only ever looking for an escape. I don’t really remember what it was. But what I _do know_ was that at that moment Lydia’s will to save me was stronger than my will to die. The ritual meant to use the Nemeton’s own power against it. Except somehow, just for that moment, its power got redirected into Lydia’s scream and she did what no Banshee should’ve been able to do,” Scott stated as his hands started to shake. Without thinking Liam placed his hands over Scott’s and in turn Scott gripped Liam’s so hard that if it wasn’t for Liam’s newfound strength Scott might have cracked something. Still, the contact seemed to help calm Scott down so Liam did not dare complain.

Scott’s eyes still refused to find Liam’s, but Scott’s slight nod told Liam that the teen’s presence was what kept Scott grounded enough to resume his tale. “Lydia,” Scott began again, sounding her name as if his mouth had become unfamiliar with it. “She… stopped my death from taking effect… and when that happened the spell went haywire because the sacrifice was not met. And then… and then nothing was the same.”

“In what way?” Liam found himself asking, giving Scott’s hands an encouraging squeeze while silently trying to fight off his own inner rising panic that questioned if Scott’s hands had always felt this cold before. _‘Shut up brain he is not a zombie!’_

~~Without fail Liam’s ears could hear the rapid beat of Scott’s heart pounding blood furiously. Zombies didn’t have a functioning heart, did they?~~

Scott swallowed before continuing. “When I came to, it was the day after, and I was in a hospital bed. Alive,” he emphasized. “The Nemeton still had its power, but it had weakened considerably. Thankfully though it had been enough to cause the attacks on Beacon Hills to stop. For all intents and purposes it was a win for us. Except the repercussions of that night didn’t stop there. They never do,” Scott muttered that last part sounding someplace between bitter and defeated.

“Lydia was in a bed beside me, having lost consciousness also—though she was already awake by the time I opened my eyes,” and just like that Liam saw another chink in Scott’s armor. That alone stopped Liam from being relieved that both of them had survived. He already knew that this story didn’t have a happy ending. This shouldn’t be surprising the teen as much as it was. But it still affected him. Maybe because Liam finally accepted the fact that seeing Scott suffering hurt more than any physical pain could.

“She lost her voice after that scream, and with it her banshee powers. And months later, when she gave birth to a baby boy, he was born deaf. We all started to learn sign language then,” Scott stated before shaking his head. “And me? Shit. The only notable difference in me was that my eyes glowed a different color. _‘Big deal’_ , I thought. I didn’t think much on it. I’d only concentrated on the fact that Lydia had paid a prize to save me and she never blamed me for it. I owed her my life.”

Scott lowered his gaze then to their joined hands. He looked down on them as if he was confused on how they ended up like that but did not withdraw from it. “As the years passed by and we tried to settle back into normalcy, I started to notice a few things that ranged from odd to disturbing. For instance it became increasingly difficult for me to scent new supernatural creatures that came to Beacon Hills until they introduced themselves to me. Even weirder I never noticed when my friends wanted to sneak up on me. They always thought that I was acting surprised for their benefit, and I pretended that to be the case, but it wasn’t. It honestly scared me. And that was before I realized that nothing damaged me the way it did before. It took me three more years to notice that absolutely nothing about me was changing.”

“When I went to Marin for answers and explained to her my situation, we were able to trail it back to the night when the ritual backfired and my eyes started glowing purple instead of red. According to her, some of the spell that was meant to completely seal the Nemeton might have rebounded onto me. At least that’s how she explained my disconnection from all things supernatural. As for the wounds that faded incredibly fast even for werewolves, well, she shot me in the head again to see if I would die.”

Scott stopped talking the moment he felt Liam tensing through their joined hands. Scott raised his gaze then and finally locked eyes with Liam. The action might have been involuntary on Scott’s part because the moment he did Liam saw way more of Scott’s armor fracture. Scott tried to look away again but couldn’t. Which, if anything, only served to prove how Scott’s instincts really couldn’t resist a chance at trying to comfort Liam whenever Scott could.

“It wasn’t like that,” Scott explained quickly, reading the teen. “I didn’t ask her to shoot me nor did I want it. She just surprised me is all,” he tried reassuring Liam. “But because the blow didn’t kill me she concluded that my time had been stopped so that I wouldn’t die. That I would always revert to the way I was before the spell happened and since Lydia was the factor as to why the spell backfired she was also the key to reverting it. Yet that was just mere speculation, we didn’t know if it was actually true. But when I informed Lydia about it she…”

Abysmal. That how it felt seeing the rest of Scott’s armor shatter to the point where breathing no longer seemed to come easy for him. “Scott-”

“I’ll never forget the look on her face, you know, the first time our eyes met in the hospital the morning after the druid ritual,” Scott stated, a ghost of a smile briefly appearing on the edges of his lips even as he rapidly blinked back the mist that formed around his eyes. “I’ve never seen her look so happy before. Not even during her wedding to Jordan. She already knew about losing her voice and powers but she did not care. _She didn’t care_. All that mattered to her was that she saved me. _Me_. And I… I guess I should have known how she would feel when I asked her about undoing it.”

His teeth clattered together as he swallowed the choking sound that attempted to come out. Yet Scott stopped the teen from uttering his name again. Scott was determined to fight through it this time. “Lydia and I, in retrospect, weren’t that different from each other. We were both catapulted into this world because of a bite. Bitten by the very same person. We both struggled with our powers and the responsibility of saving others. Of not becoming monsters ourselves. We even loved the same people and were burdened with survivor’s guilt. But I think she had it worst, you know,” Scott said, and it was obvious by his phrasing that this was something he hadn’t put together until some time after the fact—and not during.

“At least I was with both Allison and Stiles in their last moments. I had some level of closure. _I_ got say goodbye. She _didn’t_. That was the main difference between us. That she was always the one being left behind. So when I told her that I wanted to revert the spell, without even knowing what it could mean for me, it was like if we had been transported back to that night. I’ve seen my share of panic attacks before, but that was the first time I experienced someone having a nervous breakdown to that capacity—and she couldn’t even speak!”

“It’s my fault. I should’ve put more thought into the implications of what I was asking before I even brought it up to her,” Scott explained, voice staggering. “For all we knew lifting the spell would mean my automatic death, _and God I should have worded it better_. Without meaning to I basically asked her to let me die. I took her greatest achievement, the thing she had been most proud of, and spit all over it. And then I got angry about it when she flat-out refused to listen to me further! Didn’t even want to try finding ways around it!”

Even though Scott’s voice got progressively louder with every sentence, there was no actual heat behind them this time around. Like he finally discovered that there was never any use in getting angry over who had the blame. “So we took a break from seeing each other,” Scott continued, slowly withdrawing his hands away until Liam pulled them back into his—curling his fingers around Scott’s wrists. 

Beneath his fingertips Liam could feel Scott’s pulse racing erratically and almost got himself lost in it. But no. Liam wasn’t about to let Scott hide away alone in his mind again—not when Scott still had Liam. And this time it wasn’t a ghost but an actual smile that pulled at Scott’s lips. Even when small it was one of the best things Liam had seen all day.

“I had plenty of time to think over my actions and I was quick to realize that I needed to apologize to her,” Scott said—darting his eyes a little over Liam’s head in order to not meet his. Reluctantly Liam allowed Scott to have the space that he needed to proceed. “Except she wasn’t at her home when I tried to visit. Or at work. And none of my texts got through. But it wasn’t until I realized that I couldn’t catch her scent or the scent of anyone that typically surrounded her that I started to panic. As I think you already know; if a supernatural creature doesn’t want me to find them I can’t track them. And Lydia, even though she couldn’t use her powers, was still supernatural and… well…”

“You were unable to track her until it was too late,” Liam finished for Scott no longer being able sit quietly while the latter suffered. Liam already knew this part. Scott had spoken about it the night Liam found out that Scott was a werewolf.

“The scream of a Banshee can be heard by anyone supernatural,” Scott continued explaining after taking a moment to compose himself. “Even if they can’t use their voice because they lost it or because it is being blocked by something else; all Banshees scream when they die and it resonates in the head of everyone who is close enough to hear it. No matter the circumstances that sound is inescapable.”

And all this time _that_ had been what Scott kept hearing. The screams of dead Banshees. And _still_ he rushed to their side even though he knew it was futile. Jod no wonder he was still stuck in the past. _He relives it constantly._

Liam wanted to say that he was sorry for Scott, but would that really help? Liam didn’t know and he would have remained not knowing what to say if it weren’t for Scott’s grip on his hands progressively tightening. Liam stared at their joined hands for a minute—the way Scott’s fingers also curled around Liam’s wrists—before raising his gaze to stare at Scott’s face in disbelief. _‘No way, it couldn’t be’_. “That’s not the end of it, is it?” Liam asked and Scott faintly nodded—still not making eye contact. _‘Grat feces on a stick you have to be kidding me. There’s more?!’_ Just how much worst can one person have it? “Scott-”

“With Lydia’s death the Nemeton managed to restore some of its power. We all felt so stupid then. Morrell, Mason—who by then started training under her—and especially me. Because of course Lydia’s lack of powers had to do with the sealing ritual as well. That’s when we realized that it wasn’t so much as our own abilities being sealed but the Nemeton’s power being sealed inside of us. I just—because of Lydia—took a bigger chunk of it. And when the Nemeton recuperated the power that was locked inside of Lydia the attacks on Beacon Hills started again.”

“Liam I couldn’t detect when anyone was in danger!” Scott exclaimed finally looking at Liam and pleading with the teen to understand him. “People began dying again and I couldn’t protect them because I couldn’t spot the danger. No matter how I tried I was useless. The worst part being that all of those attacks were meant for me! _I_ was the target. _I_ was putting everyone in danger. And when Cora came back a fully realized Alpha and took over…”

“…It was bittersweet,” Scott said and it broke Liam inside to see Scott trying to force a smile when Liam knew it was the last thing Scott felt like doing. “According to Cora, the Nemeton wanted to take its powers back from me. Yet even though it was futile to attack me because of my apparent immortality, it didn’t stop the Nemeton from trying. And with Lydia gone so went our only chance to cancel the spell. Plus with Meredith’s disappearance and Lydia having a son, we didn’t have any other banshees to turn to. So by Cora’s logic the only way to keep Beacon Hills safe was to banish me and prohibit me from ever making contact with the Nemeton again.”

“With me out of the picture the Nemeton would have no choice but to cool down. Still, even when far away, I was afraid that just by being near me I would place other people in danger. If it wasn’t for Kira finding me two years later and proving that wasn’t the case I might have lived underground for eternity,” Scott stated before sighing. “Shit,” Scott muttered under his breath. “I probably would have looked like a naked mole rat by now if she hadn’t.”

“The Nemeton…” Liam interrupted, feeling a strange buzzing inside his head. “Is the tree stump, isn’t it?” Liam asked even though he didn’t need confirmation. “And it wants you, dead?” the teen whispered, his breathing hitching.

Scott’s eyes glanced down at Liam’s chest before moving up again to his eyes—the cloud of pain and sorrow slowly dissipating from Scott’s own only to be replaced by concern. “Yeah,” Scott said, studying gaze boring into Liam’s. “It wants its power back but can’t actually do anything about it by itself. Nor can I. But considering what it did before, the reason why it wants it back can’t be good. That’s why I can never go back to Beacon Hills while it is alive. And based on what Alicia reports to me every time I see her, it is still very much alive and waiting for me. I’m starting to think it is always going to be there.”

_‘Except it wasn’t.’_

Liam’s last couple of dreams came back to him and he realized that all this time it had been the Nemeton trying to communicate with him the nearer they got to its location. _Liam_ , because it couldn’t communicate with Scott. _Liam_ , because he was its only connection to Scott. _Liam_ , because it no longer had time to wait for Scott. _Liam_ , because neither of the two had enough in them to outlast Scott.

Now it was trying to use Liam to lure Scott back into Beacon Hills. It’s then Liam realized his choice had already been made.

_‘I can’t let Scott return.’_

That’s when the buzzing in Liam head turned into a painful loud noise that felt like sharp pieces of glass were stabbing his brain. It felt so raw that Liam ended up thrashing on the ground in excruciating agony with his head clasped compactly between his arms. He could hear Scott shouting his name through the teen’s screams but Liam couldn’t concentrate on anything else. Then as quickly as it started the pain suddenly vanished—leaving Liam ragged, out of breath and held securely to Scott’s chest. And Liam took it for exactly what it was.

 **A threat**. The pain had only been a warning. Liam was still alive because the Nemeton made it so. And it would just as quickly take it away unless Liam gave it what it wanted.

Scott.

 _‘Well jod you to the jodding pits you sorry excuse for a bark. You_ can’t _have him.’_

~x~x~

After that whole episode happened where Scott continued hovering worryingly over Liam because of the latter’s sudden aneurism that Liam kept trying to understate by repeatedly asserting that he felt better now; Liam was finally able to take a good look at their surroundings. Apparently after biting him, Scott had attempted to relocate them. That’s how they ended up seeking shelter in the manmade tunnel. However the tunnel had apparently caved in and before Scott could relocate them to another place Liam had started to convulse, immediately forcing Scott to lay Liam down on the ground for the teen’s safety.

It had only been a few hours after the Silver Corp incident. That’s why the Sun was still up even though it looked like it would set soon. And while Scott didn’t openly state it, the fact that he didn’t seem to be in any rush about traveling further from there sent a clear message. They weren’t in danger of being followed because there had been no other survivors.

The Scott from the memories had made a firm stance against killing—even against those who deserved it. Somewhere along the line Scott appeared to have made an exception to that rule for self-defense purposes against cold-blooded murderers. But just what had caused Scott to make that transition or how far along the line between Past-Scott and Current-Scott he was when he made it eluded Liam. Yet having learned as much about Scott as Liam had, something told the teen that it must have been something horrenda traumatic. Liam didn’t think he would ever built up the courage to ask.

However it was precisely _because_ so much have changed between then and now that Scott accepted the theory that Liam’s previous episode might have been a side effect of the bite. Apparently, _besides for the first Liam_ , Scott had never been present during someone else’s first transformation from human to werewolf. However he vehemently insisted that Liam get more rest before anything else exciting happened—claiming that Liam needed to wait a 12-hour period minimum before the more prominent changes started to happen. However Scott didn’t quite do the best job at hiding his apprehension toward the whole ordeal.

With what he had explained Liam figured Scott meant there was an interval between the bite and what would be Liam’s first transformation before the werewolf urges kicked in. Scott had mentioned that fast healing was only the first ability acquired from the bite. Then came the heightened senses. But it would still be a while before the rest manifested. _‘Before we could determined if I turned into an actual werewolf or into something else.’_ ~~_‘Before the color of my eyes marked me as a innocent or as a murderer.’_~~

That night Liam slept all through it without waking up once. And while he slept, he dreamt of nothing but pitch-black darkness.

~x~x~

“This is flaming magma!” Liam exclaimed as he kicked against a boulder and performed a backflip in the air—landing it quite easily. Liam went and did it two more times before Scott’s hand landed on the teen’s right shoulder to stop him from doing it a fourth.

“Remember to focus on keeping your heart rate down,” Scott said wearyingly while examining Liam’s facial features.

“Right,” Liam complied easily—looking down at his own hands and noticing he had started to wolf out again. Liam took a calming breath in and repeated the process until his claws receded back into human looking nails. Once they did Liam looked up to Scott for confirmation on whether his face had accomplished a similar transition. Once Scott okayed it Liam surprised him by giving Scott another impromptu hug—with Liam burying his grin against Scott’s collar. Liam felt Scott chuckling when the alpha finally caught himself enough to ruffle Liam’s hair.

“You sure been in a hugging mood all morning,” Scott commented with obvious mirth in his tone. “Not that I don’t like them or anything—in fact they feel _great_ —but I’d be lying if I said that I’m not getting worried that the bite might have affected your personality too.”

“Shut up and let me be happy,” Liam retorted before playfully shoving Scott away. Yet the latter did have point. Liam was willing to give Scott’s concerns some merit. Maybe crashing into him for a ninth time today for a hug had been pushing it a little. But really, how else did Scott expect Liam to react when for the first time in forever, for as long as Liam can remember, everything was bright and clear and focused!

Because Liam wasn’t hallucinating. He realized that the moment he opened his eyes to see Scott’s drooling face asleep on his side instead of a skulled-man. Liam wasn’t on medication, yet he wasn’t hallucinating. He had been cured of it. Liam no longer had schizophrenia. Scott’s bite cured him of it!

So what if Liam had given Scott a brief panic attack when Scott woke up to Liam crying with snot on his face? It wasn’t Liam’s fault that his emotions had overwhelmed him beyond the reach of his control. If you asked Liam, Scott deserved to be glomped and have a million thank yous be muttered into the crook of his shoulder. Scott gifted Liam his health back. Liam felt like a new person! If that wasn’t the best present ever then Liam doesn’t know what is! And everything that came with that was just an added bonus.

Maybe Scott did have a point and Liam jumping for joy every ten seconds was pushing it. It didn’t mean Liam was ready to stop doing it.

Exciting news by the way; _‘My eyes glow yellow!’_ The life Liam had taken might not have been one of a murderer yet it seemed supernatural judgment wasn’t going to mark Liam for it. Finally, after all those years, Liam found freedom from the thing that had been eating away at him. Liam felt justified. And guess what? He was indeed a werewolf! Same as Scott! And no matter how apprehensive Scott still seemed about it, _it felt magma to have something more in common with him!_

Liam, as of now, was officially a beta. _‘Scott’s beta!’_ he thought with undisguised excitement.

Of course that also meant that Scott wasted no time in trying to teach Liam the basics about staying in control of the wolf. Liam had no idea when the next full moon was going to take place. Scott, however, seemed determined to get Liam ready for it. Unfortunately—in part due to Liam being high on happiness—it seemed like Liam couldn’t go more than five minutes without wolfing out every time he did something that got his blood pumping.

Scott was being patient with Liam, only stopping the beta every once in a while to remind him to breath. Liam had a feeling that Scott would have been a little sterner with this if it wasn’t for the fact that Scott hasn’t quite regained his footing since waking up. The fact that Liam hadn’t stop grinning at him probably hadn’t help either. Liam just wished Scott would stop feeling so responsible for taking the beta’s humanity away. Liam got that things didn’t exactly end well for any of Scott’s past friends and that bytes and everything; but why couldn’t Scott see that Liam wasn’t blaming his alpha for anything?

 _‘Okay, no. That sounded a little insensitive on my part,’_ Liam grumbled internally. The schizophrenia might be gone but it seemed that his irritable behavioral disorder was still in full effect.

“Your eyes are glowing again,” commented Scott—reaching a hand to ruffle Liam’s hair again. Liam ducked under Scott’s arm before he could and sidestepped the alpha.

“Stop that,” Liam said with a mock pout while trying to get the glow from his eyes under control. “Better?” Liam asked because he still hasn’t figured out how to be able to tell by himself.

“Yeah, perfect,” Scott said giving his beta a lopsided smile before lowering his gaze to his feet and scratching the back of his neck. “So, uh, anything else new that you need me to explain for you?” Scott asked before standing up straighter and rolling his shoulders. “Since we’re going to stay stationary for a while we don’t really have to hunt lunch for at least another hour. So if you have any other questions about whatever other strange thing you might be feeling, please don’t hesitate to ask—no matter how insignificant you think it might be. I’m here to help no matter what.”

Liam appreciated Scott’s offer but there was only really one thing concerning the beta right then. Liam didn’t quite know how to broach the subject before but he guessed now seemed as good of a time as any. “Just one question,” Liam started and had to cough into his hand to cover up for how small his voice sounded there. Scott’s vigilant gaze made Liam shift his weight from side to side with slight embarrassment but eventually Liam cleared his throat and decided to just dive head in with it. “Is there a way to block smells?”

Scott raised an eyebrow at that. “Why?”

“What do you mean why?” Liam sputtered. “Scott I _**reek**_!” Liam whined—feeling the pink flushing his cheeks. “I just need you to confirm that you haven’t been holding your breath when around me all this time and that there’s actually a way to turn down the dial over our sense of smell. Because if not then- _just tell me_.”

Scott sucked his lips in and it was obvious he was trying hard not to smile—but his eyes revealed him. Liam groaned aloud then which just caused a laugh to break out of Scott. “You’re embarrassed,” the alpha pointed out unnecessarily. “And your eyes are glowing again.”

“Can you blame me?” Liam whined behind his hands that he brought up to hide his face in. With Liam’s newly reformed sense of smell the beta could tell that he stank worst than cerv-moose feces while Scott somehow only managed to smell like dry soil and something else Liam couldn’t identify because he didn’t have a whole lot of experience cataloging smells.

“There’s no way to actually tone down your sense of smell but I can definitely teach you to redirect it toward a more pleasant scent,” Scott answered with a soft smile. “In the meantime we should maybe bathe a little, you know, to help make your transition to better smells easier. In fact we can start your first lesson right now by teaching you how to scent a nearby source of water.”

“Fine,” Liam conceded with a huff while lowering his hands and interlocking them behind his back. “But first, since I spent all morning on acrobatics, I’d like to test out speed too if we still have the time,” Liam said while unassumingly approaching Scott again.

“Like a race?” Scott asked tilting his head a tiny bit to the left as he peered down on his beta once Liam stood only a couple of centimeters away from him.

“Not quite,” Liam grinned as he tagged his alpha while making a mad dash toward the direction opposite to Scott. “You’re it!” Liam shouted once he managed to get more than half a dozen meters away from the alpha. Liam turned to watch Scott’s muddled expression morphed into amused determination and Liam admits to not bothering to hold back his wolf transformation when he saw Scott start to give chase.

“You’re on!” Scott shouted from behind the beta and Liam honestly could not remember ever having laughed so much before—not even as a child.

~x~x~

“What have we learned?” questioned Scott as he held the length of Liam’s right arm in a perfect horizontal manner.

The beta grumbled the answer while glaring at the ground and yelped when Scott jostled his elbow. “ _That hurt_ ,” Liam hissed switching to glare his alpha instead.

“Liam,” Scott stretched the name while raising an eyebrow in a poignant manner. “What have we learned?” he repeated his earlier question—seemingly not being in any hurry to reset Liam’s shoulder even though Scott said earlier that time was of the essence for such things.

“Not to tackle trees?” Liam responded snippily and rolled his eyes when Scott frowned at him. “Alright, fine,” Liam conceded though no less embarrassed about the whole ordeal. “Just because I heal fast doesn’t mean I get to act reckless. My new abilities are to safeguard me, not to abuse them,” Liam recited and winced when Scott relocated Liam’s busted shoulder. “Jod it Scott, you could have warned me!” Liam hissed while quickly nursing his shoulder.

“I thought you said you had a higher pain tolerance than that,” Scott excused with a happy grin on his face— _the smug dimcicle_. “Alright, stop pouting,” Scott said as he got behind Liam even as the beta denied doing such a thing. “Here, better?” Scott asked as he started massaging Liam’s shoulders.

“As if you don’t already know the answer,” Liam mumbled, letting himself relax under Scott’s care. This was bliss. _‘Did anyone ever write an ode about his hands? Because jodding fuck they are sure worth a few choice words.’_ As Scott’s fingers further rubbed the tension out of Liam’s muscles, the beta closed his eyes—choosing to lose himself to his alpha’s touch. Liam himself would write at least a poem about them if he weren’t so certain that it would end up as fantasy porn instead. _‘Shepherd help me. Oh wait… I seriously need to stop doing that.’_

“I’m moving to your neck now,” Scott announced making Liam blink back into reality. “Is that okay?” he asked tentatively. And really, weird knots twisted in Liam’s stomach whenever Scott acted this thoughtful with him. Because nobody before Scott ever had. Contact with Liam’s neck was indeed a trigger point for the beta, but only when done in a sexual manner, which this was not. Still it was very comforting that Scott would think to check with his beta first. So Liam nodded for his alpha to proceed while inwardly feeling slightly ashamed for having contemplated inappropriate thoughts about Scott’s hands. Liam should try to be more mindful of Scott’s feelings too. Which were platonic at best.

~x~x~

The day had gone quickly with how busy Scott and Liam kept themselves by doing all kinds of different exercises to help Liam learn control over his shift. Scott even tried to draw on the ground what an actual wolf looked like before extinction just to sake Liam’s curiosity. If anything they sure were smaller than the beta had imagined.

It was also extra dark today thanks in part to the new moon. Equally the night felt much colder because of it. _‘Or maybe that has more to do with being a werewolf without moonlight. That could be a thing, right?’_ Either way that’s how Scott and Liam ended sleeping with their backs pressed to each other once more to conserve body heat underneath their shared blanket.

“You feel colder than before,” Liam muttered to the dark as he curled more into himself to preserve the warmth.

“Maybe that’s because your body can now stay warmer for longer and doesn’t need to leech my heat as much,” Scott mumbled and it kinda worried Liam that Scott’s voice didn’t carry any traces of sleep in it. They had been so purposely focused on Liam’s training that they’d successfully avoided talking about their relationship with each other beyond the alpha/beta status. More specifically neither of them had brought attention back to what Liam had confessed that time he thought he was going to die.

Liam kinda wanted to talk about it, explain to Scott that Liam wasn’t expecting his alpha to reciprocate in anyway and that Scott didn’t have to be so careful about his beta’s feelings. Yet Liam didn’t know how to start that conversation. The words wouldn’t come out. And who knew. Maybe Liam secretly didn’t want to have that conversation because then he could pretend that Scott’s lingering touches meant much more than just Scott feeling responsible for Liam. However the biggest reason that stopped Liam from having it was the fact that there was this distracted aura around Scott throughout the entire day that wouldn’t seem to go away no matter how much the alpha tried to mask it.

Like now for example. Even though Scott was here with Liam and never missed a beat when replying to him, Scott still felt a thousand kilometers away.

“Scott,” Liam called—turning himself around to face Scott’s back and waiting for the alpha to hum before saying the rest. “Promise me you won’t stay up all night.”

It took a moment but eventually Scott turned himself around as well to face the beta—a soft smile appearing on Scott’s face when their eyes locked. “Pinky swear,” he said while lifting his right pinky. Then he huffed a laugh at Liam’s blank stare and proceeded to grab Liam’s hand so that they could intertwine pinkies—subsequently making Liam’s mouth formed the shape of an O. “There,” Scott announced. “Now we have to keep it.”

Reassured, Liam fell asleep soon afterward. Their fingers still interlocked.

~x~x~

_Complete and utter darkness. Just like last time. Liam was beginning to wonder if perhaps he was destined to comeback here each and every night when a green light suddenly flickered on from a long distance away from Liam. Seeing as he had nothing else to do—plus wanting to get this over with—Liam began to pace toward the light._

_As if to mock Liam, the light kept flickering off and on as he walked toward it. Yet the closer he got the more Liam was able to work out the silhouette of a person sitting on the floor. That’s when Liam realized that the light came from the object in that person’s hand. A copper lighter. Scott’s._

_“Who are you?” Liam asked once he felt like he was close enough to the dark stranger to talk yet careful to keep a safe distance between them. The guy looked up and Liam took a step back when he saw that the guy’s pupils were completely white. The stranger did not do more than that and simply remained expressionless while facing Liam’s way._

_Looking at the stranger now from this distance, he no doubt resembled a young black man. Mid-to-late twenties. He was slender but not lanky. Probably tall too. At least taller than Liam but for how much Liam couldn’t tell since the stranger wasn’t standing. The man’s black hair was kept short except for the bouffant in the front. Big-sized feet as well but, you know, that’s not exactly important to point out. The stranger flicked the light out which made all of the little hairs on Liam’s skin stand up before flicking the fire on again._

_Then the jodding nadir had the gall to smirk at Liam for the beta’s reaction._

_“Yeah laugh it up you jodding- horrenda- classless- grat shit!” Liam yelled frustrated, cursing the stranger out. Then the buzzing sound returned to Liam’s brain as the stranger narrowed his pupiless eyes at Liam while standing up. A sudden pain shot through Liam that brought the beta to his knees before it disappeared. It was when Liam looked up to catch the stranger staring down at him that Liam understood. “You’re the Nemeton.”_

_The stranger didn’t reply and it occurred to Liam then that maybe it was because it no longer could. Then the buzz started again._

_“Stop it!” Liam shouted as he clutched his head with both hands. “If you think you can intimidate me like this into doing what you want then you’re wrong!” he screamed as sharp pain shot through him. “I know what you’re doing! You’re dying so you’re desperate! But I made up my mind. I’m not giving you Scott so you might as well kill me now because I’m not letting you win!”_

_The pain came to a sudden stop then. However it took Liam quite a long while to catch his breath and when he did he stumbled backward—breathing raggedly as he glared at the humanized version of the Nemeton. The Nemeton was frowning at Liam now—appearing lost in indecision. Probably weighting down the options of whether it should kill Liam now or later._

_It caught Liam off guard when it flicked the lighter off and on again before throwing it for Liam to catch. Liam caught it before the fire had a chance to burn him and saw the Nemeton give him an approving nod because of it. Liam’s gaze traveled to the lighter before going back to the Nemeton—unsure of what was meant to happen now. The Nemeton motioned toward the lighter, mimicking the hand gesture of turning it off, and then just stood there, waiting._

_Liam’s gaze went back to Scott’s copper lighter—now safely clasped in the palm of his hand—before starting back at the Nemeton’s newly expressionless face and nodding only once. Liam flicked the fire out fully expecting that to be the end of the dream but besides being covered up in darkness again, nothing happen._

_Angry at being played for a fool Liam flicked the lighter on again expecting to see the black guy from before but instead saw the guy’s corpse in all its bones and putrid flesh glory for a short second before it charged forward._

_Liam’s scream was that of horror._

~x~x~

“AAAAAAAAHHH!!!!” 

“Liam!”

Pain. So much pain. Liam woke up from trashing in his sleep and was allowed only a brief moment to meet Scott’s eyes before everything started again. Liam’s brain, sharp glass. His skin, like someone was poring boiling water over him. His lungs, being held in an impossibly tight fist. Horrible, horrible pain! Liam couldn’t stand it. Not with Scott crying out his name like that.

“You can’t have him!!” Liam shouted, his voice like gravel, only for the pain to increase tenfold. “Jod- fu- uck- aaaAAGh!!”

Liam felt Scott’s hands on top of his in an attempt to stop Liam from pulling his hair out and then—little by little—the pain started to recede. Liam barely managed to get one eye open and when he did he caught Scott’s grimacing face as the alpha’s arms and neck were filled with black colored veins. Scott was- he was taking the pain in Liam’s place.

_‘That jodding Nemeton!’_ Liam cursed inwardly. _‘It can’t force me to comply through pain so it finds a way to make Scott suffer instead!’_

“S-Scott, st-top,” Liam rebuffed weakly—trying to pull away from Scott’s touch but the alpha wouldn’t let him.

“Who can’t have me?” questioned Scott between clenched teeth. His voice came clear, but from the way his eyes kept flickering purple and the black veins that started to show on his forehead it was obvious Scott was straining to keep it as such.

“What, no, Scott-”

“Don’t lie to me Liam,” Scott said cutting his beta off. “I can tell. From the moment the bite took effect long after I could no longer take away your pain, I knew something was wrong. And you know what it is don’t you?” Scott accused, a drop of blood alarmingly dripping from his nose—an indication of just how much pain he was rerouting from the teen. “Liam, I want to help you but you gotta tell me,” he pleaded. “Let me help you!”

“You can’t!” Liam shouted, struggling to pull away from Scott without success. Even with Liam’s newfound werewolf strength, Scott was stronger. “I’m not going to let it use you again. It can’t have you!”

All of the sudden the buzzing stopped and Scott freed the beta from his grasp. Liam’s ragged breath was the only sound between them as they stared at each other in shocked silence. And Liam watched, with dreaded horror, as Scott’s face contorted while the puzzle started to piece itself together. Liam needed to remember that just because Scott didn’t make it a habit to confront Liam on his omissions didn’t mean that he was actually fooling the alpha.

“The Nemeton,” Scott uttered and when Liam didn’t immediately deny it Scott stood up and walked away—stuffing the blanket inside his duffle and strapping it on. He pushed his feet into his sneakers before picking up Liam’s duffle as well and tossing it toward the beta. “Strap that on,” Scott ordered. “We’re heading out.”

“Where to?” Liam struggled to say, a little startled by Scott’s sudden composure but obeying him just the same. Scott waited until Liam was no longer barefooted before answering.

“Beacon Hills,” he stated.

“What?!” Liam remarked quickly getting up to his feet. “You can’t be serious Scott. That’s exactly what it wants!”

“And that’s exactly what it’ll get,” Scott declared firmly. “Messing with me is one thing but I am never going to sit back and watch it mess with you too,” he stated—lowering his gaze to glare at the ground. “This game has been going on long enough as it is. Talking about my past with you helped me realize that I’m still trying to run away. To take the easy way out,” Scott said turning around and giving Liam his back. “I’m not going to let you pay the prize for it like Lydia did. It is never going to end otherwise.”

“But it is!” Liam exclaimed as Scott began stepping away. “It is!” Liam repeated once more as he marched to stand in front of Scott to stop the alpha from taking another step. Liam had his hands grasping Scott’s shoulders to stop him from trying to sidestep the beta—all while Liam implored with his eyes for Scott to reconsider his decision.

Scott’s eyebrows drew together as he examined Liam’s face. “What do you mean?” he muttered, confusion in his tone.

Liam dropped his gaze, unable to meet Scott’s eyes and explain his words at the same time. The beta felt an uncomfortable pressure against his leg and dug through his pant-pocket only to flinch when he felt the familiar texture of cooper. _‘It couldn’t be.’_ Instead of confirming his suspicion Liam focused on the strong beat of Scott’s heart as Liam attempted to put his thoughts together again.

“You’re right,” Liam started. “About what you said before? About the werewolf bite not taking? Well that’s because it wasn’t supposed to. It was too late,” Liam recounted, catching how the pattern of Scott’s heartbeat fluctuated. “Two days ago, when Son shot me and the bullet pierced my heart… I was supposed to die. Yet I didn’t.”

“The Nemeton-”

“Yeah, the Nemeton,” Liam confirmed. “It came to me while I was fading and offered me a deal. Though I use the term _‘offered’_ loosely because it didn’t really care for my consent. It just did as it pleased, which now that I think about it isn’t actually that surprising considering my track record. But yeah, it extended my life just enough for the bite to take and start the healing process. As a trade it wants me to lead you into its trap. And if I don’t it’ll… it will end me.”

“How?” Scott asked but Liam shook his head because Scott was focusing on the wrong thing.

“No Scott, not _how_. You should be asking the _why_ because that’s really what all of this is about. Can’t you see Scott? The Nemeton is _**dying**_. It no longer has time to wait for you to come back to it on your own. That’s why it is interfering now! Because it is afraid that you are going to outlast it! Don’t you get it Scott?” Liam asked, shaking the alpha by the shoulders. “Just give it a few more years and the Nemeton will die on its own. It will no longer be a threat to anyone and hey maybe with its death your curse will be broken too! Wouldn’t that be great?”

“But what about you?” Scott asked, hesitating.

“Forget about me,” Liam replied—dismissing it. “Focus Scott. If you go back now you’ll be playing right into what it wants. Maybe it found a way to recover the power sealed inside you, and if it does then I’m willing to bet all herons on the planet that it will also extend its life. Scott that can’t happen!” Liam reasoned trying to appeal to that part of Scott that always made the alpha choose to do the right thing. “Who knows what havoc it will bring to the rest of the world once it regains full power. Scott, you can’t let it win.”

“I,” Scott started but stopped to swallow. “I can’t do that Liam,” he said, shaking his head. “I can’t let you die for me.”

“Then don’t think about me,” Liam argued. “Just think of the next me. So what if I die? I’ll just be reborn anyways won’t I?” Liam questioned rhetorically. “Scott I’ve died before. No big deal. This isn’t any different than the times you lost me before, you’ll see. I bet you won’t even-”

“It is not the same!” Scott exclaimed loudly, interrupting Liam. Scott cupped his beta’s face with his hands and made Liam look at him. Scott looked scared. “I don’t want to think about the next Liam, okay? I only want to think about you! _You’re the one I care about!_ So don’t tell me to forget about you because I can’t. Not now. _Not ever!_ ”

“Scott I-”

“No, you listen to me now,” Scott ordered, leaning his head down to rest his forehead against Liam’s. “I meant what I said the other day Liam. I’m not ready to lose you,” he whispered softly yet urgently. The fingers of his left hand curled against Liam’s temple as Scott’s brown eyes pleaded with his beta to understand him. “I told you before didn’t I? None of your previous lives are interchangeable to me. All of you made me feel different ways and it was always hard for me to say goodbye to any them. But you’re different from the rest Liam. I don’ think I’ll ever be ready to say goodbye to you. I, I never want to.”

“Don’t say it Scott.”

“I love you Liam,” Scott declared regardless. “I’m _in love_ with you. And I don’t care whether my body agrees with it or not; I love _you_.”

“It doesn’t work that way,” Liam argued—closing his eyes to shield himself from the flood of emotions coursing through him at Scott’s words. Liam couldn’t let them affect his decision. He needed Scott to understand. “Of course it matters if your body wants to have sex with me or not. Scott this isn’t-”

Whatever else Liam was going to say got lost in the urgent press of lips against his own. Liam was in complete shock. Scott had never been the one to initiate anything between them before. And Liam was just generally too surprised to figure out if that made him happy or not. All he knew was that he felt his whole body shut down the moment Scott kissed him. Liam must have gasped also because otherwise he wouldn’t be able to explain how Scott’s tongue made its way into his mouth. Liam, wow… the beta even whined from the back of his throat when Scott gently pulled away.

Liam opened his eyes to the feel of Scott’s thumbs softly caressing the skin under the beta’s eyes. “It doesn’t,” Scott reiterated and Liam found himself slowly nodding in agreement. “What matters is that I love you and that I never want to be without you.”

“But what about in four years when I keep aging and you don’t?” Liam contested weakly—no longer sure about pushing Scott away.

“You’re not getting rid of me, even then,” Scott sustained, a small smile creeping in his redden lips. “I don’t plan of leaving your side ever again. I’ll wear white wigs and draw wrinkles on my face everyday if I have too. You’re going to get so tired of seeing my face in the mornings that you’ll end up wishing for your old age to hurry up and claim you just to get rid of me. You’ll see,” he promised.

“Impossible,” Liam rebuked. “I don’t believe there is such a thing as getting tired of you. That’s a load of grat feces and you know it.”

“Maybe,” Scott replied with a grin that Liam couldn’t help but match.

“We’re going to Beacon Hills anyways, aren’t we?”

“Yep.” Scott lowered his right hand to cup Liam’s chin and lowered his gaze to Liam’s mouth.

“Your heart is beating really fast,” Liam whispered, not knowing what else to comment on.

“You should take a listen to yours,” Scott whispered back—Liam eyelids feeling heavy when Scott’s breath hit his lips.

“Huh…” Liam mumbled distractedly before doing what Scott suggested. “Oh, yeah… Fast.”

“I really want to kiss you now,” Scott stated. “Is that okay?” the alpha asked and Liam didn’t know why but he couldn’t help the laugh that came out of him then.

“Really Scott? _Now_ you ask for permission?” Liam questioned, laughing at Scott’s stumped expression. Liam didn’t let the other respond though, but Scott didn’t seem to mind it much. At least not from the groan he let out when Liam grabbed Scott’s shirt while pulling himself forward to reclaim Scott’s mouth.

~x~x~

Unsurprisingly they ended up making the trip to Beacon Hills despite Liam’s reservations with Scott’s decision. But what else could Liam do? Not go with him? Yeah right. If there was a chance that Liam could be of any help to Scott then you bet Liam was going to be there as well. It took two days to reach Scott’s birthplace—two days with them juggling between werewolf training, hunting and avoiding discussing anything related to the Nemeton. If this was the calm before the storm then they wanted to pretend that everything would be okay. Yeah they could have spent their time discussing possible scenarios involving the inevitable confrontation with the Nemeton but considering they knew neither its intentions nor the landscape of the battleground, there really _wasn’t_ much they could do about it.

There was plenty of kissing too. And handholding. It was embarrassing really, the fact that talking about sex didn’t ruffle Liam the tiniest bit but when it came to the simple act of Scott holding Liam’s hand in his as they traveled—blood filled Liam’s cheeks so much that he often became lightheaded. Ridiculous… yet oh so undeniably true. If only those moments didn’t have to end.

“Is this it?” Liam questioned after they stopped at the edge of a cliff overlooking a gigantic forest that seemed to have no end.

Scott nodded. “There are way more trees than I remember,” Scott mumbled absently, seeming to be lost in remembrance. “There use to be roads here… and an abandon Bank just to our left but…”

But now there didn’t appear to be a building in sight. There was literally nothing but trees everywhere. Dare Liam say it but he didn’t think anyone inhabited these lands anymore. Everything screamed at desertion. Untouched by human hands. Population zero. Liam squeezed Scott’s hand to try to remind his alpha that Liam was still here by his side when all of the sudden a gunshot went off from behind them. They both turned around to catch sight of an elderly man and a middle-aged woman squaring off against each other. The gunshot came from the man who was holding some kind of riffle. He kept backing way—walking backwards toward Scott and Liam as he inserted more ammo into his weapon. At the same time the woman was gripping her shoulder—where the man probably shot her—and her face was slowly twisting into one of a monster. Expect none of that was the most eerie part. Not when-

“S-Scott,” Liam stammered. “Are those-”

“Not ghosts,” Scott answered the unfinished question—face tight. “More like apparitions,” he explained, watching the man and the woman with the same discomfort as Liam did. “I think those are just projections. Memories of events that happened in this place long ago. Ands that’s… That’s Kate. Kate Argent.”

Just then, as Scott finished whispering her name, the woman spoke—addressing the other specter.

“ _ **Really Chris?**_ ” she guffawed. “ _ **After all these years without seeing your darling sister the first thing you do is try to put a bullet in me?**_ ”

“ _ **You were supposed to be dead!**_ ” the man jeered. “ _ **I saw you die! You have no right walking into my life for a third time. Not after what you did.**_ ”

It only took hearing the sound of that man’s voice to feel how Scott stiffened. Liam looked back at the elderly man again and it clicked. _‘This man, Chris. He is Chris Argent. The man from Scott’s memories.’_ Except now he looked a whole lot older than what he appeared to be in Scott’s memories. And suddenly Liam understood why Scott had stiffened. This was a reenactment of something that happened after Scott had been banished from Beacon Hills. Just like Liam, Scott didn’t have a clue of how this would end. And Liam found himself wishing against all odds that they weren’t about to witness how another one of Scott’s old friends died. _‘That just be… too cruel.’_

“ _ **After what I did?**_ ” Kate questioned before letting out a derisive laugh. “ _ **Don’t tell me you’re still stewing over your pet boy?**_ ” she snide. “ _ **I’m sorry Chris but just because you lost your daughter it doesn’t mean you get to replace her with a lost puppy. Yeah I give you that with his height and adorable blue eyes he easily passed off as your son but c’mon Chris, did you really-**_ ”

Whatever Kate was about to say next was cut off by the shot of another bullet. She managed to evade just in time for it only to graze the side of her neck before she growled at leapt at her brother—who was now standing between Scott and Liam at the edge of the cliff. Thankfully both apparitions disappeared before they made contact; so the werewolves didn’t have to see the aftermath.

However, just because the scene ended prematurely, it didn’t mean that Liam’s mind took a rest from putting things together. After all it wasn’t long ago that they learned that the Silver Corp division had its origin with Kate Argent. Which meant she was alive when she organized it—and that in itself didn’t bode well for Chris’ chances. And if Scott’s silence was anything to go by, then Scott most likely reached the same conclusion as Liam did about the outcome of what they just witnessed.

“Scott-”

“We should get going.”

“I…” Liam faltered, not knowing what to say after Scott’s obvious deflection. So Liam bowed his head and nodded. “Let’s.”

Thankfully—before Liam could go on to feel depressed and useless—Scott seized both of his beta’s hands and clutched them against his own chest; forcing Liam to look up at Scott’s face. “Thank you,” the alpha muttered, eyes low. “For being here with me. It’s… somehow easier with you around.”

His words alone lifted Liam up so much—warmth spreading throughout the beta’s chest. “Always,” Liam muttered back; and despite everything that was wrong with their circumstances, Liam felt their bond growing stronger when Scott squeezed Liam’s hands at the same time Liam squeezed Scott’s.

~x~x~

Maybe wishing that the Argent siblings were the last apparitions they encountered had been too much to ask for because the forest seemed to be filled with them. Luckily they weren’t all about people Scott knew. Some of them even looked to have happened several centuries after Scott had left. Yet the occasional ones that were weren’t any less disarming. Like the one they saw about a young kid, a werewolf, who looked to be only a few years younger than Liam. In the boy’s arms he was holding a girl of the same age—Paige he called her. He was doing the very same thing Scott was capable of doing—trying to take the girl’s pain away. Yet she died anyways and his eyes turned blue before the scene disappeared.

That scene was the most haunting for Liam because it easily paralleled what could have happened between Scott and him if the bite hadn’t taken. Seeing the heartbreak in that young werewolf’s eyes when he failed to save her churned Liam's stomach because Liam could have easily caused that very same thing to Scott. It was a horrenda awful feeling just thinking about it. However as they neared what was supposed to be the middle of the forest, a very strange specter appeared in front of them. Strange because she seemed to be looking straight at Scott.

“Cora?” Scott uttered under his breath, his voice almost failing him. At the mention of her name, the woman—who looked to be around her mid twenties—pivoted away from the duo and began running at an inhuman pace. “After her!” Scott roared—shifting into his werewolf state in a blink of an eye and following after the specter without giving it a second thought.

“W-Wait!” Liam called after his alpha, struggling to summon his own shift as swiftly as Scott could. Yet Scott didn’t slow down and Liam forced himself to not do so either. Liam could do this. Scott had called Liam a quick learner. Scott wouldn’t have taken off like that if he didn’t have faith that Liam would be able to keep up. Liam- _‘There! Transformation complete!’_

Liam chased after Scott’s scent—grateful that tracking had been the very first lesson Scott insisted on teaching his beta. Liam wasn’t very good at it—at least not yet. But nothing in this world could make Liam confuse Scott’s scent. That one was impossible for Liam to mistake. ~~Not when it had quickly become Liam’s most favorite smell in the universe.~~ And when Liam finally caught up to his alpha, Scott was standing—frozen—as the scene before him played out for them.

“ _ **Have you lost your mind?! Stop this. Now!**_ ” the woman named Cora ordered at a guy who had his back turned to everyone. He wielded a big axe in his hands and seemed to ignore Cora as he brought it down to chop off another piece of wood from a wide tree-stump on the ground. _‘Wait…’_

“ _ **I said stop!**_ ” Cora roared as she moved to restrain his left arm. “ _ **Stop this now before you cause something worst to happen!**_ ” Yet the guy whirled away at the last second and turned to point his axe at her. And then it was Liam who stiffened when he recognized the same twentysomething dark-skinned guy from his last dream about the Nemeton.

“Mason,” Scott whispered from beside Liam. _‘Mason’_. Liam didn’t remember that face coming up in Scott’s memories but Liam simply knew that this person had also been an essential part of Scott’s past, just like Cora. Yet that didn’t feel completely true. As Liam palmed the copper lighter through his pant’s pocket—deep inside Liam had an inexplicable gut feeling that this person, Mason, was more than that. Something to do with Liam, the _first_ Liam. _‘But what?’_ It frustrated the beta that he couldn’t put his finger on it.

“ _ **Don’t preach to me,**_ ” Mason snarled. “ _ **I might have agreed to become your pack’s emissary but that doesn’t mean you get to boss me around,**_ ” he said disturbingly low yet with an undeniably accusing tone. “ _ **Lydia’s message- Lydia’s message said that we need Scott’s help to salvage this. If you hadn’t sent him away then maybe Satomi-**_ ”

“ _ **Rethink what you were about to say,**_ ” cautioned Cora between clenched teeth. “ _ **I get that you’re having problems coming to terms with what happened to Satomi’s pack, and I get that you feel responsible for them because your late husband belonged to that pack. But don’t you dare pin it all on me,**_ ” she warned. “ _ **Five years ago we didn’t know about Lydia’s premonition and I took the decisions that were best for everyone at the time. But now that we uncovered the meaning behind her letter we now have a chance to make this right. I already dispatched Ethan to track Scott down. He’s the only one of us who remembers his scent. And when he comes back-**_ ”

“ _ **If he comes back!**_ ” Mason interrupted. “ _ **I’m sorry to say Cora but we haven’t heard from Ethan since Arizona and that was three weeks ago. How much longer before Danny gives us the call, eh?**_ ”

“ _ **We can’t afford to think like that,**_ ,” Cora scolded before her eyes soften. “ _ **Mason,**_ ” she continued—softer now. “ _ **You’re usually more composed than this. Don’t let what happened to Satomi’s pack break you down like this. Brett wouldn’t have wanted that. So please, pull yourself together and stop this. You learned the druid arts from the best so you know better than to do this.**_ ”

Mason shoulders slumped then, and he lowered his axe. “ _ **Brett wasn’t my husband yet,**_ ” Mason corrected—voice small. “ _ **Never got the chance to seal that deal,**_ ” he muttered before shaking his head. “ _ **And it isn’t just Brett. Did you know that today would have been Liam’s twenty-ninth’s birthday?**_ ” he asked. “ _ **On his fourteenth birthday, when it was made official that we were attending different high schools, we made a promise to each other. We said that fifteen years from then we would meet again in front of our old middle school and share all of our accomplishments with each other. Well today’s that day and my best friend is not here because this reductive excuse for a tree took him away from me. Just like Brett. And I just can’t sit here and continue to do nothing. Not when we don’t even know if Scott is out there anymore. I can’t,**_ ” he repeated with steel in his eyes.

“ _ **Don’t!**_ ” Cora exclaimed but it was too late. Mason brought his axe down again on the Nemeton and then a flash blinded both Scott and Liam. Liam shielded his eyes with his right hand but when he brought it down he saw absolutely nothing in the place where the Nemeton once stood. No tree stump. No roots. Nothing. The ground was clear and plain and empty. Scott and Liam shared a look with each other then—having no idea what this was supposed to mean for them—when all of the sudden a sound frequency Liam had never heard before invaded his ears and brought both of them down to their knees.

“What’s with this noise?” Liam shouted to Scott and the beta tried to plug his ears. It was unbearable yet completely unlike the buzz that the Nemeton used to attack Liam with.

“It’s an anti-werewolf device!” Scott replied back just a loudly—clasping his ears as well. “It’s weaker than the one Don used on me. Just give me a minute and I’ll be able to locate the source and destroy it.”

Yet before Scott had the chance they became surrounded by two silhouettes that ran circles around the werewolves. “It’s done!” one of the silhouettes announced—clearly male. Abruptly the noise stopped; and once the feeling of vertigo left Liam he was able to focus on their assailants. They were, _‘twins?’_ And they were both kneeling with one knee on the ground—as well as their palms—at opposite sides of a circle made of some kind of powder. _‘What the-’_

“Mountain ash,” Scott voiced as he approached the edge of the circle only to jump back when a current of electricity shocked his outstretched hand.

“Reinforced mountain ash,” the twin closest to Scott informed. “Our own special brew. Magma, right? _And_ effective.”

Liam spun to face the other twin and growled at him while Scott asked them who they were and what it was that they wanted. The very twin Liam was staring down was the one who answered—sounding amused by the question. “I’m Max and that’s my brother, Charlie. As to why we have you trapped, we’ll let the boss answer that.” And at that Liam’s enhanced hearing started to pick out voices heading their way.

“Haha, I told you it would work!” said one of the voices. “I said that if the device worked on Colton then it would probably paralyze other shifters too. Let everyone know that this was _my_ plan.”

“Shut it O’Brien!” another voice replied with palpable annoyance. “We just used it because you’re too pusillanimous for real combat and because you didn’t want me to outperform you again.”

“Says the guy who can’t even- Jod there’s two of them?” the guy—which Liam is guessing was named O’Brien—choked out when he walked into the clearing and noticed both Scott and Liam inside the ash circle. Three other people— _two girls and another guy_ —walked in after O’Brien and also stopped to appraise the werewolves with various looks of surprise. “There was only supposed to be one,” O’Brien murmured turning to face the tallest girl. “Your tale only mentioned one.”

“Who cares?” replied the girl—no, woman. She had long wavy brown hair, a creamy complexion and—even from this distance—piercing blue eyes. “One of them has to be the **Teen Wolf** and my guess is on the small one with yellow eyes.” At her remark Liam growled at her direction because he was _not small!_ And was pleased when at least the two males took a step backward.

“No… I don’t think you’re right,” said the other girl—petit compared to her company—and hair so lustrously red that there was no way she wasn’t using some kind of App to keep it looking so shimmering. Despite the protest of her present company, she walked toward the trapped duo and stood in front of Scott. Scott slowly turned his head toward her at locked eyes with her—tilting his head slightly to the side as if trying to figure her out. “ _Nous protégeons ceux qui ne peuvent pas se protéger eux-mêmes?_ ” she questioned and Liam was distracted by the way Scott’s heartbeat shot up at her words.

“How do you know that code?” Scott questioned and it was then that red-haired girl turned toward her accomplices and shouted the order.

“O’Brien, Haley, commence the uprooting ceremony! Colton, guard them and tell me when its ready! Charlie, Max, don’t let them escape! He’s the one from the legend. The **Teen Wolf**!” she proclaimed—fixing Scott a glare. “He’s the sacrifice the Nemeton wants!”

“On it Boss!” all the males shouted in perfect unison while the other girl— _Haley by elimination_ —simply nodded and followed after O’Brien to where the Nemeton was supposed to be. O’Brien kneeled on the ground and started drawing on it with a white chalk. Wide-eyed Liam turned toward Scott in alarm—not knowing what they were supposed to do now. All Liam knew was that the word _sacrifice_ did not instill a whole lot of confidence in him.

“What are you planning on doing with me?” questioned Scott—werewolf features becoming even more prominent than before.

“The time for questions are over,” stated the enemy leader, standing confident at the other side of the barrier keeping the werewolves in.

“Not good enough!” Scott countered as he punched the barrier only to be hurled back because of the static.

“Scott!” Liam called before deciding to follow Scott’s lead and tackling his side of the barrier. Lighting struck Liam and he was flung to the middle of the circle where it took the beta sometime to regain control of his motor skills. Liam heard laugher.

“Did you miss the part when I told you that this was reinforced mountain ash?” Charlie questioned with a scoff. “Give up, swinefishes will fly before you ever get past us.”

“You don’t know of me that well then,” replied Scott getting up and reverting into his human appearance—except for his glowing purple eyes. He calmly walked toward the barrier again and stuck one hand out. Electricity zapped him again but this time Scott only flinched before stepping closer and firmly planting his hand on the barrier. Suddenly blue ripples of light started dispersing out of every corner of Scott’s hand and the barrier fluctuated—no longer looking as invisible. It set the twins into panic and their leader no longer looked so confident.

“Colton is everything ready yet?” she yelled, not daring to take her eyes off Scott as the twins started chanting some kind of incantation to keep their trap from breaking.

“Negative!” shouted Colton back. Struggling to sit up, Liam saw how Haley slashed her forearm with a knife and let her blood drip on whatever O’Brien drew on the ground. Then O’Brien made some hands signs and Hayley seemed to fall into a coma. Colton caught her before she fell and dragged her away from the vicinity as the chalk on the ground started to glow. O’Brien retreated a short distance away before beginning to chant an incantation of his own in a language Liam did not understand. The ground started to quake because of it and Liam knew that couldn’t be good.

Liam called to Scott again, telling him to hurry, and Scott growled as he placed a second hand against the barrier and dug his feet against the ground—straining as he pushed onward harder while ignoring the tendrils of lighting that threaten to roast him.

“The barrier is not holding!” shouted Max.

“We’re running out of time!” stressed Charlie.

“O’Brien!” called their panicked leader.

“I told you we should have brought more reinforcements!” yelled Colton.

“You’re not helping!” screamed O’Brien, working through more hand signs.

“RAAARRRRGGGH!!” The barrier shattered under Scott’s will.

“O’Brien!”

“It’s ready! Holland! Scream!!!”

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAahh!!”

“Scott!”

Everything happened as in slow motion. Their leader— _Holland_ —let out a scream just as Scott disabled the barrier. And not just any scream, _a Banshee scream_ , directly at Scott. Liam covered his own ears. From his peripheral vision he saw everyone else do the same. Except Scott. The alpha didn’t make a move. In fact Scott wasn’t reacting at all. He was frozen in place by Holland’s scream and then- _he started blurring!_

It was like nothing Liam had ever seen before. The more Holland held her scream the more the edges and angles of Scott seemed to vibrate out of existence. All of the sudden he became transparent and Liam witnessed how the purple energy inside of Scott was being forcefully extracted from him and transferred to the spot where the Nemeton should had been. Scott was fading while a tree began sprouting from the ground—Colton exclaiming loudly that it was working. And that’s when Liam understood! They were reviving the Nemeton and sacrificing Scott to do so.

_And Liam couldn’t let that happen!_

Everything went off so fast after that. Liam lunged toward Holland ready to take her down but was intercepted by twins whom struggled to restrain the beta wolf. Yet the surprise of Liam’s attack had been enough to scare Holland into halting her scream. Liam heard his name being whispered and turned his head toward Scott’s direction. Scott wobbled as he took a step forward but then his eyes rolled to the back of his head. Liam pushed and shoved himself out of the twins’ grasp and managed to catch Scott before he fell—Liam scrapping his knees as he slid to the ground with his alpha.

“O’Brien do it now!” Liam heard Holland shouting.

“On it!” O’Brien replied and Liam turned his face to the side—ready to defend Scott against whatever the group had planned to do next—when Liam noticed that none of them were paying any attention to the werewolves anymore. They were all transfixed on the gigantic tree standing tall and strong in front of O’Brien. “Sorry pal but today is not your day!” O’Brien announced as he stomped the ground with his right foot and multiple sigils instantly started glowing on the ground around the tree. There were like forty of them and each one of them with a different intricate design. “By the blood of a Hale in this soil spattered and the bones of the vessel in your shell harvested, I command this order upon you! Release!” O’Brien shouted and under his command the wood of the tree trunk splintered and divided itself into six different fragments—revealing a human skeleton inside of it.

The purple energy from before circled the skeleton in the form of multiples orbs of lights. Blood from the ground drew itself unto the skeleton and circulated within it frame as veins and arteries would. With his own eyes Liam saw how organs and muscle began forming out of nowhere only to quickly be concealed under dark skin and hair. Liam stayed paralyzed with his mouth agape and not understanding the sorcery behind what was happening. Because even as Liam was slowly getting used to witnessing the impossible, watching someone being brought back from the dead was something Liam wasn’t prepared to ever see. And then an earthquake started to shake the ground and several roots started to spring out of the earth to attack O’Brien and Holland.

“Protect the boss!” Colton shouted as right before Liam’s eyes Colton transformed into a scaly beast, with wings and a spiked tail, and dove in front of O’Brien—slashing at every root that dared get closed to him. Holland stumbled backward and fell on her rear right next to the werewolves as the twins quickly circled around them and lifted another barrier with them on the inside—shielding all five of them this time around instead of just trapping Scott and Liam.

“What’s happening?” questioned Max with a strained in his voice as the roots kept trying to break their barrier. The roots moved erratically but with intent. “I thought O’Brien said that once the sigils were up that everything would be under control!”

“The vessel is too weak,” concluded Holland, standing up on her own. “The Nemeton is fighting to maintain its power. The sigils were only meant to deny it access to the extracted energy but unless O’Brien manages to wake the vessel up I’m afraid it is only a matter of time before the magic-blocks wear out. That’s why the Nemeton is trying to eliminate us. Because without O’Brien in the way the vessel won’t get released; and without me the energy will go haywire and easier to claim.”

“So it knows that it is losing the fight and is rampaging now,” retorted Max. “Good to know!”

“Guys, Haley is in trouble!” alerted Charlie as he spotted vines engulfing her unconscious body whilst the ground started to swallow her.

A hand gripped Liam’s forearm and he looked down at his lap to see Scott struggle with the pained expression on his face. “Help them,” he muttered and Liam didn’t understand. Why would Scott want to help them when they did this to him? Yet when Scott opened his brown eyes to plead with the beta Liam knew that even if Liam himself didn’t understand any of this, he was never wrong to place his trust in his alpha. If Scott thought that lending a hand was the way to go then it was up to Liam to have faith in that decision.

“Dispel the barrier until I’m out,” Liam ordered as he stood up after gently laying Scott down. They all look at the young werewolf as if Liam was crazy and the beta responded by flashing his yellow eyes at them. “Your friend is about to be taken away if I don’t help!” Liam growled, tired of wasting time. “Dispel the barrier now or I’ll claw one of you out. Your choice!”

They exchanged glances with each other until Holland nodded. The next time there was a lull between the attacks the twins lowered their shield and Liam quickly sprinted toward the group’s fallen friend and slashed the vines away from her. More vines sprouted from the ground and Liam was too busy fighting them off that he didn’t notice when the twins lowered the barrier a second time to allow a wobbling Scott to make his way toward the Nemeton’s origin. Not until Liam heard O’Brien screaming at Scott to not do something crazy.

From Liam’s position he could only get a side profile from Scott. But still saw him trying to pull the vessel— _who by this time it couldn’t denied that it was none other than Mason himself_ —out of the middle of the fractured tree trunk. Scott’s whole body was covered in black veins—probably trying to speed up the process of waking Mason up—and he was struggling with the vines that tried to root him in place. Liam himself wouldn’t have been _that worried_ about Scott if Liam hadn’t seem the glow in Scott’s eye when the alpha tried to summon more of his werewolf strength.

_Red._

Scott’s eyes weren’t glowing purple. Purple were the orbs still circling Mason’s prone body. This in itself was disquieting because Scott had long attributed his immortality to the purple color of his eyes. Except now they weren’t glowing purple but red! Red as the color he used to have them when he was mortal. Mortal as in being of limited power. Limited as in one wrong move and he’s susceptible to death. _Susceptible as in he shouldn’t be draining himself out of his strength to heal someone else when his very own life was in danger!_

Without a warning all the roots that were attacking the others redirected their assault toward Scott, and Liam sprinted toward Scott’s direction to try to save him. Yet Liam was too far away. He wasn’t going to make. From the corner of his eye he noticed Colton’s late reaction as he also took flight toward Scott but luck wasn’t in Colton’s favor either. One second Liam was screaming Scott’s name as the roots blocked the alpha from sight and the next they were all being thrown back as an energy blast hurled them away from the Nemeton’s center.

Liam figured that he must have blacked out for a short minute because the next thing Liam saw when he hurried to get back on his feet was no sign of actual danger. The roots, the vines, the _tree itself_ were no longer present. Instead the clearing was just as unblemished as it was when Liam had first stepped on it. From his peripheral vision he saw Holland trying to wake the twins up. O’Brien wasn’t faring any better with a human Colton laying unconscious on top of him—which meant that at some point during the blast Colton must have doubled back to protect O’Brien from its impact. One quick look behind Liam also confirmed that Hayley was in the midst of waking up from her traced state.

The beta’s eyes then traveled forward to the middle of the clearing and saw Scott alive and without a scratch on him— _‘thank you thank you thank you’_ —except he wasn’t alone. On his feet, while being supported by Scott, stood the man who had been inside the Nemeton. He stared at Scott with wide eyes before shifting his gaze toward Liam—halting Liam’s approach. Unlike the time they met inside of Liam’s dream, Mason’s pupils were black instead of white, which made him look more human. Liam thought he saw recognition in Mason’s eyes but a split second later he closed them and collapsed on Scott.

Scott lowered them both to the ground and laid the upper half of the man’s back on his lap—the back of the man’s head resting against Scott’s stomach as Scott clasped his hands on the man’s shoulders to keep him steady. On his way to them Liam grabbed his dropped duffel bag and took out Scott’s blanket to drape it over the man’s naked body—for courtesy’s sake.

“Is he- is he alive?” Liam whispered, staring down at the face of a man who—if Liam’s math was correct—was supposed to be dead more than a thousand years ago. A man who was alive the last time Scott had set foot in Beacon Hills and was apparently close friends with Scott’s original beta. _‘Me.’_ ~~How was this even possible?~~ When Scott didn’t answer Liam crouched down and placed a hesitant hand on Scott’s shoulder to get his attention. Liam felt Scott startle, the alpha’s face turning toward the hand on his shoulder as if wondering where it come from. “Scott,” Liam tried again, more worried than before that the energy blast might have had some kind of adverse effect of Scott.

Scott eyes landed on Liam’s for a brief second before sweeping the area around him and stopping on Mason. “He woke up,” Scott informed—voice sounding like he was anywhere else but here. “He’s… sleeping now,” he added, sounding just as absent and losing himself from the world again as he stared at the man slumped against him with disbelief. Liam couldn’t even begin to imagine how it must feel for Scott to have someone he probably thought dead come back from the past. And not a reincarnation of somebody he knew _but the actual person he had history with!_ Before Liam had time to figure out what that could possibly mean for himself he heard movement and briskly remembered that they weren’t alone.

Liam spun toward their approaching company and took a defensive stand with both his fangs and claws poised for damage. It was time this crowd learned that Liam wasn’t one to be messed with. “If any one of you dares take another step closer without first explaining what in jod’s name you were trying to pull here I’ll personally rip your throats out!”

~x~x~

The **Painted Warrior**. The **Son of Grendel**. The **Hounded Bloke**. The **Shepherd**. The **Brujo Blanco**. The **Sigma Wolf**. And as if those six titles weren’t enough, now Liam was learning about the **Teen Wolf**.

According to Haley, who apparently was the person responsible for protecting this land, the story of Scott was a legend that has been passed down from generation to generation in her family. The tale of a young teenager who defeated adversity and rose through the ranks by sheer strength of character. Legend had it that he disappeared but would one day return to the place where he first gained his powers in order to save the world—and it was up to the Hales to aid him when he did.

Luckily Liam wasn’t the only one having trouble keeping up with her explanation as Scott—who at some point managed to focus his attention back to the real world—appeared to be equally as confused by her words.

The apparitions the werewolf duo saw right before being ambushed were none other than Haley’s ancestor— _Cora Hale_ —and Cora’s emissary, _Mason_. According to Haley, Cora’s emissary once tried to kill the Nemeton by destroying what remained of its body. As retribution the Nemeton sealed away Mason’s soul and transferred itself into his body, using him as a host vessel to substitute the body that was destroyed. And Cora—who had failed to impede Mason’s recklessness—had her werewolf gene sealed forever by the Nemeton. The implication of this meant than none of her descendants were capable of awakening the werewolf gene either.

Even so the Hales were tasked to guard the Nemeton until the **Teen Wolf’s** return. And there lied the dilemma. The Hales were supposed to help Scott upon his return but they were also supposed to sacrifice him to the Nemeton if they ever wanted the seal upon their heritage to be lifted. Coincidentally that’s when Holland and her crew came in.

Holland and O’Brien were part of a renegade organization—a group made up almost entirely of supernaturals—and had traveled to Beacon Hills two weeks prior on a recruiting mission because of a premonition one of their agents had. A diviner by the name of Keahu. Here they met Hayley and her four siblings, and after few scuffles because of a misunderstanding, they were able to establish a truce. Consequently after learning of the Hale’s plight, Holland became convinced that Keahu’s premonition actually meant that she was intended to recruit the **Teen Wolf** and together with O’Brien formulated a scheme to make it happen.

To make their plan work they needed the help of druids to set up a ritual. That’s where the twins, Charlie and Max, came in. At this point O’Brien became very vocal on the fact that they only had requested the twins’ assistance, not Colton’s whom nobody asked for. Colton—who referred to himself as a mythological dragon—refuted that if it weren’t for him O’Brien would be plant fertilizer by now. It became so painfully obvious that these two didn’t get along but thankfully it only took one word from Holland to make them shut up and stick to glaring at each other instead.

Holland herself was a Banshee with the special ability to nullify druid arts with her scream—meaning all of the twins’ skills were practically futile when used against her. It also meant that she had the power to dispel the druid curse placed upon the Nemeton with one of her screams. They were counting on the fact that the Nemeton would use that chance to reveal itself and try to retrieve its power back from Scott. But just incase they pretended to be on the Nemeton’s side by antagonizing Scott in order to lure it out. And that’s when the last remaining piece of the puzzle came in.

O’Brien—much to Liam’s discomfort—was a necromancer. This meant that O’Brien had the ability to reanimate the dead. With the little knowledge they had to work with, O’Brien figured that by using Haley’s blood he should be able to contact the remains of her ancestor’s emissary—which is exactly what they did. Their strategy basically came down to waiting until the Nemeton revealed itself to contact Mason’s soul from within it. The Nemeton’s endgame was no doubt to use the stolen energy to revive itself—which was precisely what they tried to prevent.

Assisted by the multiple magic sigils that the twins had previously drawn on the ground to help keep the Nemeton docile; O’Brien’s main task was to reanimate the vessel’s body and attempt to transfer the stolen power into him instead—reviving Mason in its place. Yet somehow, even in its weakened state, the Nemeton proved to be more formidable than predicted. In fact—and Liam was quoting O’Brien on this—if Scott hadn’t stepped up and hasten the process by mending Mason, none of them would be alive right now.

“So Mason,” started Scott, speaking shakily while lowering his gaze back down to the man under his care. “Is he here to stay?” he questioned, voice low as if guarding a secret.

“Magma, right?” replied O’Brien looking quite pleased with his work. “Because of that purple energy floating around, that guy’s soul and body merged together is ways above your typical reanimation. I can no longer cancel my spell on him, meaning that he can’t be unsummoned. He’s just as alive and mortal as you and me now. But just as a precaution I probably shouldn’t be around when he wakes up. Some souls tend to get aggressive on me when I interrupt their sleep. Snags of the job. Nothing too horrenda though.”

“Talking about being around or not, we still haven’t discussed our interest in you,” Holland voiced, appraising Scott’s profile before settling her gaze on Liam—the only one of the two really paying attention to her. “Both of you it would seem,” she emphasized—her lips staying pursed after the last word in a way Liam was sure many found attractive. Her mouth was rosy, Liam gave her that, but Liam however did not find that tactic as distracting as she probably expected it to be.

“You want to recruit Scott into your organization and you’re trying to use me to get to him. Fun strategy but a little ‘been there done that’. Try again,” Liam shot down trying not to squirm by the way she seemed more pleased than disappointed by Liam’s open distrust toward them. _‘Just who are these people?_ “How about starting with your endgame?” Liam suggested—hastily scanning the position of everyone in her crew as a precaution. “What in Shepherd’s name is so important that you risk your life and that of your team for a chance to enlist Scott?”

“Look Max he has your same temper.”

“ _Please_ Charlie, I’d be _way_ more aggressive about it.”

Holland cleared her throat and the twins immediately quieted down. If there was ever a doubt that she was the leader of this operation; that successfully squashed it. “Smarts,” she remarked with a smirk that looked lazy yet purposeful at the same time—making Liam feel like she was somehow dissecting him. “Noting your free use of the Shepherd’s name it’s safe to assume that you’re aware that jammers are being used to regulate technology outside of the Domes, or am I wrong?” she questioned and Liam tried not to let the answer show on his face. “Did you also know that the Domes’ original purpose was not to safeguard humanity but the jammers themselves?”

“I’m sorry,” Liam stated sardonically. “But I’m having trouble identifying what any of that has to do with Scott.”

She narrowed her eyes at Liam for a short second after his statement. _That_ , coupled up with her subordinates previous reactions to her, let Liam know that Holland wasn’t a person who took kindly to being interrupted when trying to make a point. _‘See? I’m just as good at dissecting you right back.’_

“The jammers might have once been a necessary evil to save humanity but now its transmissions are the very thing killing the planet,” Holland informed pointedly as if daring Liam to think up a clever comeback to that. ~~Liam couldn’t.~~ “Knowledge of this event came to us through Sinqua, our geomancer. We have less than 10 years to stop the jammers according to him. If we don’t our planet will collapse on itself and take what life is left on its surface with it,” she explained before smirking again. “Tell me— _Liam was it?_ —do you still think that the safety of your lives doesn’t concern your friend the fabled **Teen Wolf**?”

Liam found himself stumped in regards to finding some kind of rebuttal. But then the most flaming thing happened. Scott, who until this point looked like he wasn’t paying attention, proved that hadn’t been the case at all by intervening on Liam’s behalf.

“You weren’t being honest when you said that you found out about the jammers’ menace to our planet’s sustainability through a geomancer,” Scott spoke—not looking up from where he had two fingers pressed to Mason’s neck as if to have tactile evidence of his pulse. “My guess is that you were already aware of that threat and your geomancer only confirmed it. Also, because I can still smell the App residue on you, I’m going to hazard a guess and say that the reason you know so much about the jammers is because you are Dome-born.”

As that last sentence slipped out of Scott’s mouth, Liam’s ears caught a sudden spike in the heartbeats of both Colton and O’Brien while the rest of their team looked at Holland with open distrust. By their reaction Liam was guessing that neither Haley nor the twins were privy of that information. _‘Holland was born inside a Dome, just like me.’_

“Scott,” Liam cautioned. Liam may not particularly trust Holland but as a fellow Dome-born who was perfectly aware of the preconceptions sub-generas had about them, Liam wasn’t particularly fond of Scott exposing her secret like that. Yet Liam shouldn’t have worried because if he has learned anything about Scott— _‘and I’ve learned plenty’_ —is that Scott would never recklessly endanger anybody else.

“I may have never been inside a Dome before but I seen enough of the world to know that their governments must already have a survival plan for it,” Scott elaborated before anybody else had the time to act on his earlier reveal. “Which means that you would have been perfectly safe had you stayed inside your Dome. But you didn’t and now you’re trying to stop it. _Nous protégeons ceux qui ne peuvent pas se protéger eux-mêmes?_ Correct?”

Those words again. Scott’s code. _We protect those who can’t protect themselves_. Now that Liam remembered, Holland had uttered it too!

Holland seemed to relax at the mention of the code. “Correct,” she said. “Haley’s family wasn’t the only one who passed down the tale of the **Teen Wolf**. Though my version of it was a romance between a shape-shifter and his hunter. I recognized that her version correlated with mine the minute she shared it with us and used the key message of the story to identify you. That’s why I knew I had to recruit you,” Holland explained—and now that she sounded earnest in her words she no longer felt as intimidating to Liam. “As you accurately inferred, the Domes _do_ have a failsafe against this calamity but it only insures their safety, nobody else’s.”

And that was something that she in good conscience couldn’t allow to happen. She basically confessed to having endangered her life by abandoning her Dome to rescue those of strangers. That alone spoke volumes of her morality and it was clear as day in the faces of everyone around her that their faltering confidence in her had been restored.

“Liam,” Scott muttered under his breath and the beta turned on his side and caught Scott silently beckoning him over. Liam gave Holland one last glance before bounding over to Scott. “Help me lift him over my back,” Scott directed as he began standing up and lifting Mason with him by the shoulders. Liam immediately tied the blanket around Mason’s waist and then helped adjust Mason so that he was piggyback-ridding it on Scott’s back.

“Listen,” Scott whispered—giving his back to the group and at the same time shielding Liam from their view. “I really want to help them because this planet dying stuff sounds serious. And I _really_ want you to come with me because I love being with you and you’re the person I always want beside me. But if you’re not up to it I won’t force you. But please, look after Mason for me. I don’t want you going off of your own—especially when there’s still so much-”

“Scott stop,” Liam muttered shaking his head. “You’re talking as if I ever would consider the option of leaving you. I promised to always be there for you, remember? And you said that you’ll stick by me until my dying breath so no taking that back either.”

“With a white wig and wrinkles drawn on my face,” Scott upheld, smiling at Liam with eyes filled with so much affection that it was hard remembering that they had company and that Liam probably shouldn’t make-out with Scott in front of them.

“Or actual white hair,” Liam countered. “I’m not so sure that all the years you put aging off won’t catch up to you sooner than you expect,” Liam teased. “For all we know you’ll have white hair by next winter.”

“How come?” Scott asked—and when Liam noticed the genuine confusion in his alpha’s eyes Liam realized that Scott might have not grasped yet what happened to him.

“Scott make your eyes glow,” Liam requested with urgency in his voice. Scott looked puzzled by the request but trusted Liam enough to do what he said—confirming what Liam thought he saw before. The lump in Liam’s throat was hard to swallow. “Scott, when Holland screamed, the Nemeton’s seal being broken and the tree emerging back into existence wasn’t the only thing that happened,” Liam said—catching the way Scott’s pulse began to raise. “You blurred out of existence also and the purple energy came from within you. Don’t you get it Scott?” Liam asked frettingly. “The Nemeton’s power is no longer sealed inside of you!”

Scott blinked and lowered his gaze before quickly looking back at Liam—gaze wide. “W-What color are my eyes?” he stuttered while readjusting Mason’s weight on him. Scott looked like he was going to dry heave at any moment and Liam realized Scott was treading dangerously close to having a panic attack. Maybe Liam shouldn’t have told him.

“Red,” Liam’s mouth answered just the same and Scott seemed to freeze at the word.

“The curse is broken,” Scott whispered to himself a long moment after and then locked eyes with Liam again—staring openly. Then next thing the beta knew Scott was crashing his lips unto Liam’s with a ferocity Liam hadn’t experience from Scott’s before; and Liam’s hands were on his alpha’s face a split second later—reciprocating just as ferociously.

“Told you they were together!”

“Shut up Charlie, you did not.”

“But I thought it the moment we trapped them.”

The twins’ banter dissolved into noise as Scott nibbled on Liam’s upper lip before pulling away yet resting his forehead against his beta’s.

“I’m mortal now.”

“You are.”

“I’ll be able to grow old with you.”

“You will”

“I love you!”

“I love you too.”

And then they were kissing again but had to stop when Liam tried to wrap his arms around Scott’s neck and almost bumped Mason’s face off Scott’s shoulder. _‘Mason’_. The man the Nemeton had fused with and the guy whose connection to the werewolves the Nemeton tried to use in its favor. Liam became conscious of the copper lighter in his pocket again. There were still a lot of questions unanswered. A lot Liam didn’t understand and he wondered how much light, if any, Mason would be able to shed on this once he woke up for good. ~~Will he even remember anything?~~

“Later,” Scott promised—talking about the prospect of making out with his beta—and Liam would make sure to hold his alpha to that.

“As magma as this has been for future wanking reference,” O’Brien voice cut in followed by a groan from Colton and a whoop from Charlie. “Haley would probably appreciate it if we could get an answer from Mr. Legendary here sooner rather than later so that she can inform her brothers and sisters of the decision.”

“Oh don’t mind me,” Haley supplied with a wit Liam hadn’t heard in her voice before. “I missed the previous show in its entirety so I’m always up for the after-performance.”

“ _Hollaaaaaaaaand_ ,” O’Brien whined looking for support. “Back me up.”

But before she could speak up Liam did. “We’ll help!” he declared grinning at Scott. Scott echoed Liam’s statement while never taking his brown eyes off Liam’s blue ones. Liam didn’t know what this new future with Holland’s renegades would entail. Didn’t know how he’d feel about suddenly traveling in a large group and having to associate with all sorts of new people when until a month ago Liam had always been alone. Liam realized the same applied to Scott since he had spent most of his time on Earth alone than with someone. Scott must have been as uncertain as Liam felt about this new route they were planning to embark on. Heck Liam didn’t even know what his future with Scott would be like or if they will ever have sex! But as Liam was slowly coming to realize, none of that mattered.

Liam loves Scott. And Scott loves him. They will never be apart again.

Everything else that the future brought, Liam was sure that they’ll get through it somehow. Liam’s past with sexual abuse; Scott’s survival’s guilt; their improving mental health; saving the world and everything else in-between… They will tackle it together from now on.

Because they both have been given a second chance at life and it’d be a horrenda shame if they didn’t use it to mend each other’s wings—figuratively speaking of course.

“I love you Scott.”

“I love you too.”

**END**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1) Did I just write a soul-mates werewolves story about Hetero-Identifying!PossiblyDemisexual! **Scott** and AbuseVictim!MultipleLives! **Liam** who are more than okay with just being in a monogamous homoromantic relationship with each other even if sex is never involved that is set in a post-apocalystic dystopian future where the world is dying and now they have to save it? _Why yes, yes I did._
> 
> 2) Did I just use actor's names for the characters introduced in the last chapter? You bet I did! _Holland/Lydia, O'Brien/Stiles, Colton/Jackson, Haley/LauraHale, Max/Aiden, Charlie/Ethan, Sinqua/Boyd, Keahu/Danny._
> 
> 3) Will I ever consider doing an Epilogue to this where we get to meet the rest of the group and answer some of the unattended questions? _Yep! ~~But only if I get enough kudos to satisfy my craving. lol.~~_
> 
>  
> 
> **Alright folks! That's all for now. I hope you enjoyed reading the ridiculous ideas that popped in my mind for this fic as much as I enjoyed typing them! I still can't believe I ever thought this could be a one-shot. Just the same don't be shy and please let me know what you think ;-)**


	8. Epilogue: I’d do absolutely anything for You.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scott and Liam prepare to set out in a mission that will shape their futures. Hand in hand, of course. And this time, with a pack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Man it’s been so long since I last updated. I’ve been very busy and away since then and I still don’t get regular access to the Internet where I’m currently staying. Even now I don’t have a lot of time to do much more but I want to let you all know that even if I don’t get to reply to all your comments I’ve read them all and they made me extremely happy and I appreciate them. And as I promised here is the long awaited Epilogue!
> 
> But first, and this is for my past readers, I reedited the whole story to 3rd POV so if you’re coming back expecting to read the Epilogue in 1st POV, _sorry_.
> 
> Also in case you all forgot of never learn actor’s names. Here is a quick run-through for this story’s purposes (teams will be explained in the epilogue don’t worry):
> 
>  
> 
> **Team Alpha:**
> 
>  
> 
> Scott  
> Liam  
> Holland/Lydia  
> O’Brien/Stiles  
> Crystal/Allison
> 
>  
> 
> **Team Beta:**
> 
>  
> 
> Haley/Laura  
> Hoechlin/Derek  
> Adelaide/Cora  
> Shelly/Malia  
> Nelson/Young!Derek
> 
>  
> 
> **Team Gamma:**
> 
>  
> 
> Mason  
> Tall!Cody/Brett
> 
>  
> 
> **Team Delta:**
> 
>  
> 
> Keahu/Danny  
> Max/Aiden  
> Charlie/Ethan  
> Maya/Meredith  
> Victoria/Hayden
> 
>  
> 
> **Team Epsilon:**
> 
>  
> 
> Colton/Jackson  
> Daniel/Isaac  
> Gage/Erica  
> Sinqua/Boyd  
> Alicia Boyd
> 
>  
> 
> **Team Zeta:**
> 
>  
> 
> Meagan/Braeden  
> Short!Cody/Theo  
> Arden/Kira  
> Cho/Kira  
> Kelsey/Tracy
> 
> *the rest of the chimeras are unmentioned but definitely somewhere. So if your fave wasn’t included in the Epilogue just imagine s/he is there but just unmentioned by name. But if your fave is Michael/Cory then just imagine that he joins team gamma at some point. XD

Two years ago. Doesn’t really seem like a particularly long stretch of time but that’s the last time Liam remembers what loneliness felt like. Now, at the prime age of 21, Liam kinda wishes he could get some of that privacy back.

“No honestly, you gotta tell me,” said Charlie fishing for descriptive imagery like he always did. His hands were occupied carrying the back-end of a cerv-moose Liam managed to hunt because they both knew it was Shelly’s favorite meat. Liam—who was carrying the front-end—wondered, not for the first time, why he agreed to let Charlie help with the hunt. “How hung is Scott, and I’m talking about centimeters here Liam. See Keahu doesn’t think it’s bigger than 18 centimeters, but I’ve seen Scott during his leg stretching routine and let me say that-”

“Please don’t finish that,” grumbled Liam, letting his eyes flash yellow in warning. Liam didn’t have anything against Charlie—in fact he would reluctantly admit that he enjoyed the twin’s company most of the time because he could appreciate how much effort Charlie put into trying to be on everybody’s good side—but there were some subject’s Charlie’s mind continuously veered into that Liam wasn’t particularly fond of discussing.

Like that fact that everyone at camp apparently thought that Scott and Liam had this flaming sex life when in reality that idea couldn’t be furthest from the truth. Consequently that always made discussing such matters an extraordinarily awkward affair. Especially after what had happened that morning.

“Pft, calm your locomotives,” said Charlie with an amused roll of his eyes, not at all threaten by the werewolf’s flashing eyes. “I already know you guys are exclusive—which is a horrenda shame by the way—but I respect that.”

“Only after we shot down your advances **repeatedly** for an entire month,” Liam argued under his breath.

“Bygones,” Charlie countered with a nonchalant one-shoulder shrug. And Liam would be inclined to believe the twin is he couldn’t smell the obvious attraction Charlie still held for Scott. “The point is that Keahu thinks that just because he kinda sorta gets premonitions every once in a while, that he knows everything. And he doesn’t!” Charlie exclaimed impassionate. “So if Scott’s cock size is all that it would take to knock Keahu down a peg, wouldn’t you agree it is for the greater good?” Charlie debated. “We could be heroes!”

“Not if the answer also gets Keahu to become interested,” Liam shot back unenthusiastically. “One of you jodtards is already enough.”

“So you admit that Scott is big enough to get him interested! Haha, score!” Charlie celebrated with a wide grin, making Liam groan. “You lucky scalawag, I’m so jealous.”

“Stop.” 

~x~x~

Life with Scott was everything Liam ever dreamed of. In fact it’s more and better because Scott is the most magma person Liam has met and Liam is so jodding in love with him that _nothing_ could ever measure up. Speaking of measurements, in the last years Liam has grown from 1.72 meters in height to 1.75 and he was mighty proud of that. Expect now that Scott’s immortal curse had been broken, it revealed that Scott still had some growth left in him—going from 1.78 to a height of a perfect 1.80.

No worries by the way. All the stunted time behind Scott hasn’t tried to catch up to him. Scott aged normally now and by all intents and purposes he looked like a man of 23 years of age. Of course losing his immortality meant that Scott had to pick back up the rulebook he had tossed away long ago. 

For example 4 days after Scott’s time began to run again, he collapsed suddenly, scaring the shit out Liam until Hoechlin—one of the five Hale siblings—checked Scott over and determined Scott had just passed out from dehydration. As an immortal, Scott had long stopped paying any mind to his own water consumption, and only drank every once in a while to keep up appearances; but now that he was mortal he couldn’t afford to keep up those same habits.

Some things took more time to adapt than others. But with Liam’s constant and almost panicky attention to everything Scott-related in those first few months; adapt was what Scott did.

O’Brien often made jokes at Liam’s expense during that time because of Liam’s “horrenda levels of smothering”, but Scott himself never protested it. The rest of the group however either thought of Liam’s actions as amusing ( _see Holland and the Hales_ ), as endearing ( _only Charlie_ ), or were driven crazy with it even though they weren’t the recipients of it ( _Colton, Max and O’Brien being the prime examples)._ Practically everyone seemed to have an opinion about it until the Teen Wolf himself finally spoke on the subject.

“Because I don’t remember the last time someone wanted to take care of me,” was what Scott had answered with a fond smile and vibrant affection in his eyes. The jokes stopped shortly after that.

The group of renegade themselves weren’t scot-free of questionable behavior however. For example, the day before Holland and her new recruits escorted them back to their home base of operations, Colton asked if he could speak alone with Liam. With spec of suspicion, Liam agreed and still—to this day—he has to mentally roll his eyes every time he remembered the subject that private discussion had revolved around.

Apparently until Liam came around, Colton had been the only male with unaltered blue eyes in their team. Not only that but with Colton’s blondish hair, cream colored skin and athlete physique, he prided himself in being the prettiest member of the team—by his standards at least. And apparently—also by Colton’s scale—Liam’s was challenging that position and Colton felt the need to let Liam know the latter shouldn’t bother because Colton wouldn’t let go of that title without a fight.

Colton didn’t seem to quite believe Liam when the werewolf expressed his utter lack of interest in such a contest or title. But upon making it back to their base the next day, Liam was promptly forgotten about when Colton’s eyes landed on the Codys. As it would seem, while away on their mission to Beacon Hills, Keahu—their diviner—had taken it upon himself to recruit two more members to their cause. These two new members being as equally blue-eyed, blondish and light-skin as Colton—one of them even being a head taller than Colton. Suffice to say that every time that Colton decided to challenge the Codys into any sort of contest, he now always dragged a reluctant Liam into teaming up with him because—according to Colton—they had to defend their superiority as the originals blue-eyed members of the team.

Liam didn’t even like the color blue. Too typical. Everyone in the Domes who was born with blue eyes changed them to green and everyone who wasn’t changed it to blue. ~~It wasn’t as special or warm as the color brown.~~

But at least Liam didn’t feel particularly threatened by any of the previously mentioned members of Holland’s crusade. Sadly though, the same couldn’t be said when it came to the extra recruit they had picked up on their way to the base.

~x~x~

Alicia Boyd was the perfect picture of a friendly ghost. She was receptive when people spoke to her, shared whatever centuries’ old knowledge she could provide, always met Scott with a heartfelt greeting, and— _because her lack of a heartbeat made it difficult to prove otherwise_ —was honest to a fault. She was also a sadistic millennium old vengeful spirit underneath her sweet little nine-year-old appearance. But nobody seemed to take note of that beside Liam.

While walking to cross the bridge near what used to be the state of Arizona, the group stumbled upon the Revenant again. After Scott finished introducing the ghost to them and after hearing of the pact she made of not moving on until Scott does; O’Brien had the flaming idea of inviting her to come along. Turns out that all it required was for O’Brien to perform one simple necromancy ceremony to unbound Boyd’s spirit from her location restrictions; and instead bound her to the runestone that O’Brien wore on his neck like a pendant.

And although Boyd had yet to do anything worthy of suspicion since her newfound freedom, Liam had been unable to let his guard down when around her ever since that confrontation they had with each other away from prying eyes.

~x~x~

_“You killed Ethan didn’t you?”_

_“~Who?~”_

_“The werewolf that was supposed to find Scott,”_

_“~Don’t know him~”_

_“Don’t play dim with me,” Liam reproached while remembering what he’d heard from the apparitions. “Ethan’s the one who was originally supposed to bring Scott back to Beacon Hills ages ago. To his friends! But then all of the sudden he disappeared when he got to Arizona’s border—your territory! That can’t be a coincidence. Are you seriously going to deny you had anything to do with that?”_

_“~Yolo~” Boyd half shrugged as if that word meant anything to Liam. “~Does it matter; it’s not like it changes anything~”_

_“Changes anything? Are you kidding it changes EVERYTHING!” Liam snapped. “If you hadn’t killed him then Ethan would have found Scott and maybe his curse would had been broken a hundred times sooner! Then he wouldn’t have had to endure a thousand years of suffering, Mason’s soul would have never been trapped inside the Nemeton, the Hales would had never lost their shifting power and-”_

_“~And there would be no one powerful enough now to stop the planet from dying~”_

_“That’s not the point!”_

_“~Is there one?~” Boyd questioned with infuriating nonchalant-ness._

_“The point is that you killed the only chance Scott had at getting help sooner and then pretended to be his friend even though you were the one who kept him from his real ones.”_

_“~Ever heard of an eye for an eye?~”_

_“Scott told me what happened to your brother but it doesn’t make it right.”_

_“~I did what I did~”_

_“And I’ll do what I have to do!” Liam stated getting increasingly fed up with Boyd’s bored tone._

_That at least got a peeved reaction out of her. “~And what’s that, punk?~”_

_“I’m going to tell Scott that you’re a Reve- a ghost of vengeance of whatever you’re called. He deserves to know the truth.”_

_She smiled then before lifting one arm up, standing on the tip of the toes, and then performing a pirouette. “~Not all murders are obvious ya know~” she mentioned, her voice playful but deliberate as she kept on dancing. “~Some people get lightheaded when near the edge of a cliff. Others happen to fall asleep while bathing in the lake and accidentally drown. Body possession is imperceptible to all except the person experiencing it.~”_

_Liam took a step back at her words before catching himself and rectifying it by taking a bigger step forward. “Are you threatening me?”_

_The next thing Liam saw were transparent hands covering his eyes from behind. “~Now why would I do that?~” She voiced next to his ear and completely disappeared by the time Liam turned around._

~x~x~

Liam suddenly found himself being glomped from behind and lifted from the ground as if he weighted nothing by a very excited were-ursidae. “You brought me Cerv-Moose!” Shelly exclaimed as she smooched Liam just about his right cheek. “I could eat you right now!”

“Please don’t,” replied Liam with a red blush tinting his cheeks. He tried to ignore Charlie’s snickering as Liam waited for Shelly to put him down.

Out of all the Hale siblings, Shelly had taken a shine to Liam the most. She was odd in the sense that she was always looking for a way to distract herself and had no sense for personal space. Apparently those two traits merged together in the form of petting and grooming people’s hair as if they were animals. And after tensing up the first three times she did it to him; Liam kinda sorta gave in. ~~And it’s not like he exactly hated the idea of being petted from time to time. He just hated having to deal with the druid twins’ heckling afterward~~.

With the Nemeton gone, so was the seal placed upon the Hales. Yet after a millennium’s worth of improved genetics plus the extinction of the canine species, it seemed that all traces of wolves were erased from their DNA. In its place—instead of transforming into werewolves—the members of the Hale family appeared to be able to transformed into were-ursidaes. With Haley, the eldest and hence the alpha of their pack, being able to transformed into a full ursidae.

When questioned about this, Scott explained to Liam that only those born as werecreatures were able to reach a full transformation. Alas, since both of them were bitten werewolves, neither of them would be able to achieve full transformation. Scott also mentioned that only chimeras were able to cheat that system; but he did so as a passing comment that made clear it wasn’t something he was willing to elaborate on. At least not yet.

As already mentioned, Haley—at 32—was the eldest of the Hale siblings. She was basically their spokesperson, as the rest seemed all too happy to delegate any and all decision-making power to her. Whatever she chose, the rest followed. Hoechlin—at 28—was the second eldest. He was also the one who took the most shine to Scott and the most eager to learn anything Scott would teach them after controlling his shift. Which was probably why during their first full moon it had been Scott’s voice and not Haley’s the one Hoechlin clanged to when he lost his self-control.

O’brien and Colton had secret betting pool geared on how problematic that might prove for pack dynamics in the future. On a completely unrelated noted, the fact that Hoechlin smelled of only pure admiration with no hint of attraction when around Scott did _a lot_ to calm Liam’s slightly territorial tendencies.

Adelaide—25—was the middle child. She didn’t exactly warmed up to anybody that weren’t her siblings. In fact to this day she only ever seemed at ease around Sinqua, the team’s geomancer. But his was a story for later. She was also the only one of her siblings to master the shift from the get-to, which made her pretty magma in Liam’s eyes. Adelaide hadn’t exactly given Liam the chance to tell her so, but Liam wasn’t all that bothered by it. He, if anyone, perfectly understood the importance of boundaries.

Shelly—who just turned 23 and hence the cerv-moose for her birthday—was the second youngest. The title of youngest however went to Nelson—at 19—and he spent most of his time playing with the kitsunes and having a crush on a different person every month. This month’s flavor being Gage, the harpy. Hers, much like Sinqua’s, was a story Liam was yet to be privy of. All Liam knew was that Sinqua, Gage and Daniel—the warlock—all knew each other since they were children and apparently grew up in Europea. How they got to Norte Americana was still a mystery to Liam but both Scott and Holland were willing to trust them so Liam didn’t argue it. Those three were all 24 in age.

“Be careful of how you handle him Shelly,” Charlie said trying to stifle his giggles behind his hand. “The all mighty wolf of legends might start to get jealous.”

“Why?” Shelly questioned, putting Liam down at the same time Liam boldly stated “Scott doesn’t get jealous.”

Charlie just shook his head with a self-assured smirk on his face. “No one is above getting jealous.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” refuted Liam—scowl on his face when the twin had the gall to laugh at his words.

“Oh believe me,” Charlie stated with complete mirth in his eyes. “Your poutiness _wasn’t_ what stopped me from pursuing a threesome with you two,” he declared—biting his lip and lowering his gaze to the Cerv-Moose they still needed to drag toward Meagan’s tent for skinning. “Jod, I never been more turned on in my life.”

~x~x~

Holland and Colton were both 24, and O’Brien was 22—which meant he was only a year older than Liam.

Colton and O’Brien had apparently been traveling together ever since Colton was nine and O’Brien was seven. Allegedly they _always_ had this love/hate relationship where Colton would often try to ridicule O’Brien in any possible way while O’Brien would never missed an opportunity to boss the other around. Confusingly enough though, Colton followed O’Brien practically everywhere and would get angsty if he didn’t know the necromancer’s exact location. Likewise O’Brien only ever spoke badly of the other when he knew Colton was within hearing range and never anytime else.

Whichever the case their bickering never failed to give Liam a headache when they were together. Charlie—ever the gossip—seemed fairly certain that all Colton wanted was for O’Brien to spank his ass. Charlie might have also commented on how they had the most tragic foreplay he had ever seen. Liam might have been inclined to adopt Charlie’s theory if it wasn’t for the very obvious third party in this.

When Holland escaped her Dome three years ago, her vibrant app enhanced hair and luminous green eyes stood out like a severed thumb among the sub-genera. Her story could have ended horrendaly quickly had she been spotted by any of the gang-affiliated sub-genera. Fortunately though she stumbled upon O’Brien and Colton who were busy exchanging blows with each other after one of their arguments escalated beyond apology territory. Yet one look at her vibrant strawberry blond hair and they simultaneously came to an agreement that they needed to cake her in mud before anyone started asking questions.

For Holland that probably wasn’t the best introduction to life outside the Domes but it didn’t change the fact that they unquestionably saved her from leading a life comparable to what Liam went through. And after learning of her plight they somehow also came to the conclusion that providing her with safety was now their responsibility. The fact that O’Brien and Colton always competed for Holland’s attention didn’t escaped anyone either. Scott often shook his head in quiet defeat whenever that happened—one time muttering to himself how he couldn’t believe that he was witnessing this happening again.

Liam wasn’t sure if Scott was referring to an event in present-time or not. But whatever it was Liam decided that knowing probably wouldn’t relieve him from his headache so in the end Liam didn’t bother asking.

~x~x~

_Speaking of displaced timelines, Mason had not awoken from his coma until two months after they made it to Holland’s group home base. Every night ‘til then Scott would take vigil next to Mason and tell him stories about how much the world had change since Mason last saw it last. Scott would occasionally throw in a recounting of one of the many tales based around him—17 and counting—and Liam would always pay extra attention to those._

_The day Mason opened his eyes wasn’t one to be easily forgotten by anyone who had been in the group at the time. The partly clouded skies suddenly erupted into an ear-shattering thunderstorm; gravity in regards to inanimate objects temporally ceased to exist; their base got abruptly swarmed by an infection of heda-butterflies; and a giant force field surrounded their entire encampment—shrinking in size progressively and threatening to compress everything and everyone trapped inside it._

_In a moment of panic everyone aside from the werewolves came to the hasty decision that they needed to kill Mason before it was too late. Scott pleaded for time to resolve it and was only giving 5 minutes to do something about it. Not finding another alternative, Scott grabbed both Liam and a comatose Mason by their necks and impaled said necks with his suddenly too sharp nails._

_If traveling through the apparition infested woods of Beacon Hills was considered unnerving then the unending onslaught of recorded tragedies inside Mason’s mindscape were downright disarming. Thousand of deaths, all perpetuated by the Nemeton, on constant replay. Scott yelled that they needed to find one memory directly linked to Mason that was left uncorrupted and that maybe that would be enough of an emotional tether to pull Mason back into consciousness._

_Easier said than done when the actors of every scene seemed to stop mid-sequence only to launch themselves at the werewolf pair. In the midst of it Liam got separated from Scott and somehow ended up in front of a building with the words **DUVENECK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL** attached to it. Suddenly Liam was his twelve years old self with a heavy backpack weighting down his shoulders. And on the steps to the school’s entrance another twelve-year-old was seated with his face buried in his hands._

_On instinct Liam approached, his steps resounding unnaturally loud on the pavement. “Are you lost?” Liam asked the other kid once Liam made it to stand a few steps away. The kid glanced up with a spooked expression on his face and immediately crawled backwards higher on the steps to get away from Liam._

_“Who are you?!” the kid demanded, holding his backpack in front of him to use as a shield. Cracks on the pavement below Liam’s feet started to expand; and soon even the cement started to crack until it extended to the outer walls of the school building. Yet Liam did not notice any of that because even though Liam had only seen a face more than twice the age of the person standing in front of him—and even though the kid’s skin seemed to be made out of oak wood—the beta werewolf recognized him just the same._

_“Mason?” he heard his twelve year old self say._

_“H-How do you know my name?” Mason stuttered taking another step back into what was soon to be a crumbling building. The gusts of winds picked up and soon they were being engulfed in a leaf storm. Liam heard his name being called out in the distance but he didn’t answer back. Even so he knew that it was only a matter of time before Scott found him. Instead Liam’s eyes drifted back to the name of the building and came to the startling realization that this must have been the school that both the first incarnation of himself and Mason went to. The one they had promised to meet in front of in fifteen years time but none made it to._

_Redirecting his gaze again, Mason was staring at Liam as if he was seeing a ghost. Then rather abruptly Scott was standing beside Liam with an arm stretched in front of his beta to shield him. “A Darach,” he growled and when Liam looked back at the front steps he no longer saw Mason there but a monster wrapped in dark cloaks. Except that wasn’t a monster._

_“Scott that’s Mason,” Liam muttered, no longer his child self. Ignoring Scott’s confused reply, Liam lowered his alpha’s arm and stepped forward. Knowing that he would only get one chance to make this right, Liam gripped the straps of his still-present-backpack and tried to put on his best smile. The creature ahead of them casted a wary glance at Scott—who upon trusting Liam’s move relaxed his stance—before slowly drifting to float in front of the beta wolf. When the **Darach** moved, dead herons fell from the sky in its wake. Even so Liam did not hesitate to take another step forward and Scott did not try to stop him. “Hey Mace, sorry I’m late.”_

_The entire world crumbled then; but none of it more devastating than the way the Darach’s haunting expression did. “Li?”_

~x~x~

“Where’s Scott?” Liam asked once he and Charlie deposited the cerv-moose on the _lovingly named_ butcher table.

“Patrolling with Mason,” Meagan replied distractedly as she meticulously selected the best knife for the job. “Usually that’s code for reminiscing about the good old days but I got the sense that today was different,” she said discarding the knives and electing to go with an axe.

“How so?” Charlie questioned becoming rapidly invested in the subject; though his excitement quickly turned into repulsion when Meagan swung the axe down and beheaded the Cerv-Moose in one clean strike—splashing Charlie with some of its blood. “You know what, I think I hear my brother calling for me,” he excused as he left.

Liam watched him leave before turning to Meagan and echoing the previous question. “How so?”

“Funny,” Meagan responded while wiping the edge of her axe with a fond look. Meagan was one of the few in the base that wasn’t supernatural. Regardless of that she was arguably superior to Liam when it came to tracking plus she was a jodding weapon master. She even made her own bullets. Meagan was also their newest recruit, only joining the group five months ago and it strictly because of Scott’s insistence.

“Why is it funny?” Liam probed with a spec of doubt in his voice after a minute of Meagan not elaborating.

“Because your boyfriend has been jumpy ever since he came back from his morning jog with you,” Meagan indicated as she began sawing the horns off. “If anyone I thought _you’d_ know.”

Liam tried not to shift uncomfortably under her inquiring gaze. ~~He wasn’t sure he was all that successful~~

~x~x~

_Scott and Liam had been inseparable for two years now and it’s been magma. Not only did their werewolf connection bring them closer together but it also helped Liam resolved some of his traumas. You see typically the feeling of being restrained while being kissed was enough of a trigger for his brain to completely shut down on him. As such, they were always very careful to thread lightly around each other at first. **At first**._

_Liam wasn’t sure when exactly they started to get friskier with each other; but one day Liam had Scott pushed up against the trunk of a tree and was very determined to make Scott’s mouth surrender against his. But then Scott—very unfairly—planted his hands on Liam’s rear, lifted him, spun them around so that it was Liam who was now pressed against the tree, and proceeded to attack his neck with wild abandon. And Liam mewled. He jodding mewled and goodbye self-restraint._

_If their was something completely distinct about their werewolf connection it was that the wolf inside of Liam knew perfectly well who Scott was. As such it was wholly secured in the fact that his alpha would never hurt him and wasn’t someone to be feared. So the things that should have been triggers to Liam—like Scott trapping Liam’s wrists against the bark or Scott ravaging his beta’s neck—weren’t._

_Afterward, when they both had settled down and had time reflect on what had happened, Liam began to cry and had to stop the dozens of apologies spilling from Scott lips with a kiss because jod, FINALLY the world was letting Liam have one._

_They never made it past kissing and some groping—or “second base” as Scott would call it—which was fine because it was already established that sex wasn’t a necessary part of their relationship and it really couldn’t be helped if Scott’s body didn’t respond to any erogenous stimulation._

_Or at least that was the truth of it up until **this** morning._

_It wasn’t like they did anything different from what they routinely do. Wake up at daybreak, stretch, go for a run, make out away from voyeur eyes, and return to base just in time to decide whose turn was it to hunt. Except this time something entirely unexpected happened during their make out session that caught both of them off guard. Liam was the one who noticed first—and why wouldn’t he when it was pressing firmly against his hip? The beta’s breath hitched then and a puzzled Scott backed away. They stared at each other in flushed confusion until Liam looked down and Scott followed his gaze._

_Maybe it had been a fluke, or maybe it was something so simple as Scott’s mortal bodily functions requiring time to be back in working order after so much disuse. Whatever the case, Scott had gotten hard below the waist from kissing Liam… and it made everything that followed awkward._

~x~x~

“Hide me hide me!”

“No hide meee!”

And just like that Liam had two 6-year-olds climbing on his back the second he left Meagan’s tent. Three seconds later he spotted Nelson running to their direction and glared him into a full stop.

“Fine, I give,” Nelson conceded raising both hands up in surrender. Both kids squealed and cheered from atop Liam’s shoulders and were already tugging his hair to signal Liam to help them climb down. Nelson tried to hold back his chuckles every time Liam winced.

“Didn’t Meagan warn you twice already not to play Chase & Run with the twins?” Liam questioned as he set Arden down who—upon feet landing on the ground—rushed to climbed on Nelson’s back instead.

“Maybe,” Nelson answered with a grin as he began to spin Arden around much to the kid’s glee. Upon seeing her twin brother being spun, Cho refused to let her feet touch the ground until Liam had no choice but to spin her around as well—if only to keep Nelson from prompting the kids to call Liam “ _mean wolfy_ ” again.

Arden and Cho came as a packaged deal along with Meagan, their latest recruit. Based on what little information Meagan had chosen to reveal about herself, her first experience with the supernatural happened four years ago. She was on her way back home after collecting some bounty when she heard children screaming and crying. She tracked down the source only to witness a man standing between two children and an ursidae. Meagan was about to help chase the beast off until the impossible happened—rooting her on her feet. The man who was being attacked produced lighting from his body and fired it toward the ursidae. The sheer power in it causing an impressive flash that temporarily blinded Meagan.

When she got her sight back, it was to witness the man already in the process of being mauled by the ursidae. The moment the ursidae turned its sights on the children Megan got her motor skills to function again and unleashed a barrage of bullets on the beast until it was ruined for pouching. This left her alone with two newly orphaned children.

The fact that the man apparently didn’t know that ursidaes were impervious to electricity was what tipped Meagan off that she was dealing with foreigners. And so it was highly unlikely that they had any family left on the continent. That’s how she ended up adopting them as her own even when she had no clue of what she was dealing with.

That clue came five months ago when Scott caught a familiar sent and upon tracking it stumbled upon Meagan and the twins. Scott quickly identified them as Kitsunes, the answer Meagan had spent years chasing, and it wasn’t long after that that Holland’s company grew. Keahu foretold that the boy, Arden, would develop as a lighting kitsune just as his father was. The girl, Cho, would similarly develop into a fire kitsune.

Only when they were alone did Scott reveal to Liam that those children—much like Holland was a descendant of Lydia and the Hale siblings were descendants of Cora—were descendant’s of Kira, the woman Scott once spent eternity with.

Liam tried very hard not to feel self-conscious every time he saw Scott smothering the kitsune twins with affection because it wasn’t like Liam had anything to be jealous about. Cho and Arden were someone else’s children and not of Scott’s blood; and it probably must have been hard for Scott to know that the woman he loved at the time had mothered someone else’s children because the curse didn’t allow him to give her his. It wasn’t unreasonable for Scott to feel protective of whatever remained of her in this world. And yet…

None of that stopped Liam from feeling insecure about his status with Scott. It was a horrenda awful time for Liam. At least that was the case until he braved the jod up and sneaked off to have a private conversation with Mason about it—the only other person who knew of Scott’s relationship with the Kitsune. Let’s just say that at the end of that conversation Liam felt like a complete dimcicle for ever questioning his own connection to Scott.

~x~x~

_“So the thirteenth time was the charm huh?” Mason commented from where they were standing away from prying ears. “Gotta give Taylor Swift props, 13 really is a lucky number.”_

_“Who’s he?”_

_“She,” Mason corrected with a lamenting shake of the head. “And forgotten by the times apparently.”_

_“He she whatever,” Liam protested. “Can we go back to focusing on my problem please?”_

_“Please, you don’t have a problem. Scott loves you. The end.”_

_“I know_ that _,” the beta wolf grumbled. “But I’m talking about-“_

_“No buts about it,” Mason argued. “I mean it. Scott always looked at you as if you were his Moon and you always acted as if Scott was your Sun and Stars.”_

_“Are you talking about the first me?” Liam questioned raising an eyebrow._

_“I’m talking about all the yous,” Mason declared before getting pensive while staring into the distance. “I don’t remember much about my time as the host of the Nemeton—it’s very foggy. But I remember sensing you. I was always aware of you. Of your soul I mean,” Mason stated, pausing to lick his lips before elaborating further while ignoring Liam’s confused stare. “You see, your soul never really vanished from this world. Instead it would follow Scott around until you become strong enough to will yourself to be reborn. So yeah, all your reincarnations might have been different but you all shared the very same soul. You get were I’m going with this?”_

_“I- no- maybe?”_

_Mason huffed and rolled his eyes. “I’m saying that you two are soulmates and that the only reason you kept being reborn is because your soul refused to let go of Scott’s. You two are connected,” Mason stated with a small smirk to his lips. “It’s like they say. Death cannot stop true love. All it can do is delay it for a while.”_

_Liam lowered his gaze, feeling a tad embarrassed at the way Mason described Liam’s and Scott’s connection. However he still wasn’t completely reassured by Mason’s impression of it. “But is it_ true love _or is it just our werewolf connection? After all, it’s not like Scott ever felt something more for any of my previous reincarnations. What if I’m just confusing him? What if-”_

_“Tsk, please you two were bewitched by each other, body and soul, since the very first time you met,” Mason said with a scoff. “I mean sure, Scott was already in a relationship with someone when you two met so that complicated things. And then you wanted to quit him so bad you tricked yourself into falling for the high school cliché of dating the girl whose pigtails you pulled in elementary school; even going as far as attempting to kill Scott because of her-”_

_“The first me tried to kill Scott?!” Liam stammered, looking up at Mason with a look of horror._

_“Pfft, don’t worry about it, I got you to see sense before you could because I’m awesome like that,” Mason waved off tilting his chin up at the proclamation. “The point is that you had nightmares about it for months and when Scott found out he learned your favorite band’s entire self-titled album on his acoustic guitar just so that he could climb your window at night and play them for you. To help you sleep. And not even Stiles ever heard Scott play guitar so Scott obviously only learned it for you,” Mason declared with a nod to himself. “Scott loved you then too. It’s just that things never got uncomplicated enough for him to realize it in time.”_

_Liam’s gaze fell to the ground again making Mason sigh._

_“Look,” Mason started once more. “I’m not saying you two were perfect. I’m just saying that no matter what challenges carried you apart, you two always found a way back to each other,” he said before another smirk appeared on his face. “And a thousand years later you still do. It’s like that one movie line said. You meet thousands of people and none of them really touch you. And then you meet one person, and your life is changed.”_

_“Movie line?” Liam questioned scrunching his eyebrows together._

_“Yeah dude,” Mason said, smirk turning into a full grin. “I’ve been quoting movie lines throughout the entirety of this conversation,” he laughed. “Honestly, one of the benefits of being from the past is that I can sound profound by quoting all this cheesy lines from romantic comedies without being called out on it because none of you get the reference.”_

_“Are you sure it’s not because you’re old?”_

_“Hey don’t be an asshole, I resent that. Besides, Scott is older than me you know.”_

_“Chronologically maybe, but not biologically.”_

_“Careful now,” Mason warned while rubbing his hands together in a plotting manner. “As a Darach all I require are three sacrifices of a common status to be at my prime again, mwahahahaha!” he finished with a fake evil laugh that amused no one._

_“You’re a dimmed horrenda-stain, you know that?” Liam said with a frown. Mason shook his head._

_“I’m just gonna pretend I know what that is and own it.”_

_Liam rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. Mason was indeed a dimcicle, that couldn’t be denied. Yet at the same time Liam had to at least concede that talking to his resurrected friend did in fact help a lot to mollify his worries in regard to his relationship with Scott. And to be honest the idea of being seen as Scott’s soulmate did cause a happy flutter in his stomach._

_“For future reference,” the beta werewolf started once his insecurities stopped gnawing at his mind. “Asshole doesn’t mean what you think it means. Not an insult.”_

_Mason quirked his eyebrow at that. “What does it mean then?” he asked and when the werewolf finished explaining it to him Mason pursed his lips and gave a single nod. “Intense.”_

~x~x~

“If you two are done being jodtards, you should know that Holland is dividing the groups as we speak,” announced Gage as she gave an unimpressed onceover to both Nelson and Liam. Both guys abashedly placed the kitsune twins on the ground whom immediately abandoned the reprimanded werecreatures as soon as their feet touched the ground—giggling as they went. Gage, who had been toying with her hair, covered her mouth with it to hide her smile at their departing silhouettes.

“Am I in your group?” Nelson questioned immediately perking up at the idea of being assigned to his crush’s team.

“You’re with your siblings to no one’s surprise,” Gage answered not bothering to hide her gleeful satisfaction at the way Nelson instantly pouted and whined about the unfairness of it all. “Oh come on,” she said. “It’s not that bad. I’m the one who got stuck with Colton.” Both werecreatures grimaced at that. “Yeah, Sinqua and Daniel are already doing relaxation techniques to prepare for tomorrow,” she added before sighing in exasperation. “I just hope Colton doesn’t try to goad Daniel again. It’s not funny when two grown men resort to hair pulling as a way to sort out their differences.”

Liam nodded at that, he vividly remembered Colton practically demanding Liam to come and take his side. Liam has yet to understand why Colton always tried to make everything into a contest. Though having said that, Liam also knew Colton well enough to know that the self-proclaimed dragon probably didn’t take the news of the team-ups any better either.

“Where’s Colton now?” Liam questioned already dreading the answer but not at all surprised with Gage’s response.

“Having a lover’s spat with O’Brien,” she said rolling her eyes before glancing at Liam and nodding toward their direction. “You should probably go and find out in which team you’re in. As I heard, only Meagan and Short!Cody are staying behind to look after the base and the children. Everybody else in being dispatched tomorrow.”

“Which means we got to make tonight the best birthday party ever because who knows when we’ll be together again!” cheered Nelson with a fist to the air. “Oh look, Scott’s back!” he then exclaimed pointing behind Liam. The beta wolf automatically turned around to catch Scott and Mason trotting toward them while apparently still immersed in conversation. Liam was debating whether to call for his alpha’s attention or not but the decision was made unnecessary as Scott glanced their way and immediately locked eyes with Liam.

“Oh ho,” Gage muttered from somewhere behind him. “Let’s skedaddle Nels. I know the ‘we need to talk’ look when I see one.”

Liam paid no heed as they left as his attention was solely focused on Scott. He saw his alpha part ways with Mason—who sent a thumbs up Liam’s way—before Scott jogged the rest of the way to stop in front of Liam.

“Hey,” he said a little breathlessly with the widest, brightest smile as he brought his left hand up to cup the back of Liam’s neck—fingers gently tangling themselves in Liam’s hair.

“Hey,” Liam echoed back before he was pulled forward to have his lips captured by those of Scott’s.

~x~x~

_The world was coming to an end, Holland made no secret of that. They had less than 10 years to stop the jammers or everyone outside of the Domes will die._

_That couldn’t be allowed to happen._

_Keahu, the group’s diviner, had been tirelessly working for 20 years trying to figure out a way to hack into the Domes’ barrier system in order to gain entry access. He started almost immediately after he got a premonition’s of the world’s end. He was 6 then. Keahu had made most of his progress after first meeting Holland; but it wasn’t until he vigorously interrogated Liam on the technology that had been inside his Dome that Keahu managed the key element that he was missing in all his previous work._

_Now they had a way to breech the Domes—except they were more Domes in existence than what had previously been accounted for. Scott, having traveled the world more than thrice over, spoke of a total of nine Domes. There were five in Norte Americana, all capable of holding 800,000 inhabitants each. There were three others in Sur Americana with half the capacity of inhabitants each; and only one in Antarctica—where if Scott was being generous with his estimate—couldn’t possibly hold a population larger than 100,000._

_Neither Europea, Oceania, nor the Calisto Islands had Domes. And even though there was a settlement that resembled a Dome in Africana, Scott was certain that it possessed no jammers inside because of how freely he’d been able to roam there._

_Guess that answered the age-old question of who sunk Second Asia then._

_In all that meant that 3.7 million of the 12 million humans that inhabited the planet lived inside Domes. That’s 8.3 million of the world’s population to be whipped out in less than a decade. More if Holland’s fears about an inside culling held merit._

_At present that left the group with a best-case scenario of less than eight years to effectively infiltrate and destroy the jammer inside every Dome. At worst they had four years before the damage the jammers produced got to the point of no return. And seeing as they had to do most of their travels by foot, they had no other option available to them than to split up into groups if they wanted to reach all nine Domes in time._

_Tall!Cody—or Saintgnue as he preferred to be called—was raised near Antarctica and immediately requested to be given that Dome’s mission. O’Brien didn’t seem keen on the idea of the team volunteering on their own without waiting for him and Holland to plan everything first to the tiniest of detail; but before he could expressed his opposition, Mason piped up by offering to tag along with Saintgnue. Mason argued that because weather manipulation seemed to be his most accessible Darach power, he could make sure that neither of them died from frostbite. Plus if push comes to shove, Mason was basically a one-man-army. Otherwise he would just follow Saintgnue’s lead seeing as Mason hasn’t really had time to adjust ‘with the times’._

_O’Brien very much looked like he wanted to oppose this. Yet the necromancer—for all that he boasted the contrary—hadn’t really gotten used to having someone brought back from the dead around that he couldn’t dispel with a flick of the wrist. And so he was always_ all too glad _to enforce whatever distance he could put between the two of them. Plus Antarctica’s Dome was the most difficult to reach considering that they had to cross an ocean to get there. Plus it was the smallest one. Chances were that Saintgnue was going to be assigned there anyways, and if Mason wants to go with the tall merman then bonus._

_However before anybody else had the chance to volunteer themselves for any more missions, O’Brien shut them all down by threatening to have dead jackrabbits invade the cot of whoever spoke next. In the end it was decided to divide the remaining members into four groups. Each group would be assigned a total of two Domes each, with Mason and Saintgnue already assigned the ninth one._

~x~x~

After greedily tasting the other’s mouth, Scott leaned down for one more chaste press of their lips before Liam was both pushing Scott a little away and firmly clutching at Scott’s shirt so that the alpha wouldn’t step that far away.

“What was that for?” Liam breathed out—glazed eyes momentarily having trouble detaching their watch from Scott’s mouth before, with extreme will power, looking up to meet Scott’s tender gaze.

“No reason,” Scott answered with a soft tone while using the hand he already had on Liam’s neck to rub his thumb behind the beta’s ear. Liam’s eyes almost fluttered close at the ministration. “Just thinking about how much I love you.”

If Scott had said that while they were within company, Liam would have pushed Scott away while whining about Scott just trying to get him flustered. But since no one was around in the immediate vicinity, Liam pulled Scott forward again by his shirt and hid his face in the junction between Scott’s shoulder and neck. “Is that what you were talking with Mason about?”

“Yeah, kinda,” Scott replied as he placed his other hand on Liam’s hip to pull him closer so that the beta could lean more comfortably against him. “But it was mostly about me,” Scott admitted. “About finding the right word to define me, I guess.”

“Word?” Liam mumbled against Scott’s neck making the alpha stammer his next response.

“Remember two years ago, when you asked me if I had ever taken the time to discover myself?” he asked and only continued when he felt his beta’s hum. “Well I’ve been trying too. And Mason has been helping me with that,” he confessed. “Most times we just talk about the past. He knew Kira and heard quite a lot of talk about Allison too. Plus he knows of you. All the yous actually, if he concentrates hard enough,” Scott mumbled before shaking his head and continuing. “Anyways, he has done more research on this kind of stuff than I have so he has been trying to help me find the answers, even if I do tend to ramble at times.”

Liam listened soundlessly; trying not to spook Scott off the topic like it has happened quite a couple of times throughout the years they’ve been together. But when it seemed that Scott was having trouble moving his explanation forward, Liam risked giving him a little nudge.

“So did he?” Liam asked quietly. “Find the word you’re looking for I mean.”

“He… yeah.” Scott swallowed. “After I told him about this morning he kinda came to a conclusion quickly after that.” The beta felt his cheeks burning at the implication of Scott having shared the story of that particular event with Mason. Yet before he could will his flush away in order to say anything on the matter, Scott spoke again. “Mason thinks I’m demisexual, which basically means I only develop an attraction to people I feel strongly bonded with. At least according to him. He thinks it just happened faster with my two previous relationships because I was already open to the idea of dating girls and, you know, first crushes kinda take over in no time,” Scott finished—removing his hand from Liam’s hip to flap it awkwardly on his side as if he had no idea what to do with himself then.

Liam took that opportunity to lift his head from Scott’s neck to look at his alpha’s indecisive expression. Scott was chewing his bottom lip and looking at Liam imploringly as if he was waiting for the beta to dismiss the idea and Liam couldn’t think of a universe where he would ever do that. So instead the beta posed another question of his own.

“And how do you feel about that word?” Liam asked in what he hoped translated as supportive. “Do you think it describes you?”

“Honestly?” Scott shrugged with both shoulders. “I like it,” he admitted. “It’s basically like having standards.”

“Standards?”

“Yeah,” Scott said with a nod. “If it means that you have to win my heart before you win my dick then yeah, I’m totally okay with that.” This time Liam did push Scott away and Scott stepped back with a laugh. “Aw come on, that was a good line,” he joked with an easy smile.

Liam pretended to consider it before grumbling lowly to himself as he moved to slump himself against his alpha again. “It was,” he admitted after he buried his face on Scott’s shoulder. Smiling when Scott’s hand immediately moved to tangle itself in Liam’s hair once more.

His fifteen-year-old self would have never believed that he could find himself feeling this content in someone else’s arms. But content is what Liam was. And extremely happy to boot. Though when Scott’s other hand settled back on his hip with the crucial difference of Scott sneaking his thumb under Liam’s shirt and therefore tracing the skin above his waistline; Liam was willing to admit that he also felt a little aroused.

But that was okay too. Especially when Scott pulled Liam’s head away so he could smash their lips together again. And when Scott tried to lick entry into his mouth Liam was _all too eager_ to comply.

~x~x~

“Did you two just have sex?” Holland questioned the literal second after they made their way into her tent.

“What? _Noooo_ ,” Liam denied feeling slightly affronted by being greeted that way.

When Holland let her eyes roam up and down on them superciliously, Liam had to will his hands from fixing his rumpled shirt and undeniably tussled hair like he oh so wanted to. He would _not_ give her the satisfaction today. Holland shrugged and turn her attention back to O’Brien; conceding this round to Liam. Tally so far…

Liam, 17.

Holland, 54.

Shut up, it’s a win!

O’Brien sat next to Holland’s mat while typing furiously on the holopad. It’s the one that Son used to own. Before meeting up with Alicia’s ghost and crossing the bridge, Scott had gone back alone to the scene that ended with him giving the bite to Liam. Scott had gone specifically to retrieve the weapons Silver Corp had used against him so that Holland’s team could deconstruct them and learn from them, but he also brought back the holopad as well in case it contained an updated bestiary.

Needless to say that the necromancer instantly latched himself to the device the moment he saw it. Even if he had _no clue_ how to use one he refused to let anyone else touch it, claiming scavenger rights.

“I heard you’re assigning the groups for tomorrow,” Scott said easily as he grabbed Liam’s hand and moved them to settle on Holland’s mat.

Holland never did quite mind when Scott did things like making himself at home without waiting for her invitation—and so far he had been the only one able to get away with it unscathed. Judging by O’Brien’s poorly concealed frown, it hadn’t escaped his notice either. Liam was sure it was mostly due to the fact that Holland grew up with stories about the **Teen Wolf** that she was more permissive with Scott than she was with the rest of the crew. The Hales, having grown up with similar stories about Scott, certainly took an immediate liking to him. So it is not exactly strange that Holland considered Scott’s input more than others.

Yet part of Liam also didn’t doubt that Holland allowed such actions from Scott because for some twisted reason she really enjoyed the way Liam would get so flustered and work up about it. Like now, when she made no secret about the fact that she was smirking at their interlocked hands. Liam flushed and hid his face between Scott’s shoulder blades.

Liam, 17.

Holland, 55.

“Your ears heard right,” answered finally Holland after Liam’s face was no longer in view. “Ask O’Brien to tell you the details. I got to go make sure Kelsey will listen to Meagan when I’m gone,” she excused as she took her leave. Kelsey was the recruit that came before Meagan, but like she was only 15, she had to stay behind. She also had reptilian skin much like Colton, although at least she didn’t claim to be a dragon. She also only seemed to listen to Holland so Liam understood the necessity of the banshee dealing with the issue sooner rather than later.

When the flap of the tent closed behind her exit, O’Brien turned to the werewolves and grinned. “55 to 17, she’s winning,” he announced only to receive a groan from Liam.

“What’s the prize?” Scott asked only to blink when the other two stared at him with pitying looks. “What?” Scott inquired carefully.

O’Brien rolled his eyes but dismissed it by telling the alpha wolf to forget about it. “More importantly let’s talk assignments!” O’Brien started. “As you already know Mason and Tall!Cody are heading out to the Dome in Antarctica. They are **Team Gamma**. The rest consists of groups if fives. All of the Hales are **Team Beta** and are heading north. They’ll tackle Dome Juneau and after that, Dome Ottawa.”

Liam looked up at the indication of everyone being assigned team names. It kinda had a way of making the whole thing sound official. He wondered who came up with that idea. “Keahu, Max, Charlie, Maya and Victoria are **Team Delta** ,” O’Brien continued. “They’ll be tackling the closest one, Dome Cheyenne, before heading all the way to the east for Dome Alexandria. Any questions so far?” he asked and continued once both werewolves shook their heads. “Right, then Colton, Daniel, Gage and Sinqua are **Team Epsilon**. I’m also taking the liberty of affixing one of my rune stones on Sinqua’s chanting beads so that Boyd can act as their ghostly fifth member. They’ll be heading to the furthest reaches of Sur Americana to tackle both Dome Buenos Aires and Dome Taguatinga.”

“Is Colton okay with not being in the same team as you?” Scott questioned, no doubt catching on—just like Liam had—that Colton didn’t particularly deal well with separation.

“Oh not you too,” O’Brien groaned before dragging a hand across his face and muttering about abandonment issues. It was probably something Liam wasn’t supposed to hear but the beta couldn’t exactly turn off his werewolf hearing. “We talked,” O’Brien finally ceded. “And he understands the importance of the mission,” he clarified. “Still… Colton only agreed to Sur Americana’s mission because we are tackling the third one there. So more chances to meet in the middle,” he admitted in a grumbling tone.

Scott nodded and squeezed Liam’s hand and for a moment Liam wondered how he would had taken it if he was told that he had to be in a different team than Scott. Then Liam quickly dismissed the thought because he _did not_ just compare his relationship with Scott to Colton’s issues with O’Brien. But then a more alarming thought popped in Liam’s head.

“Does that mean we are tackling Dome Houston?” the beta asked earning another squeeze of his hand from his alpha. Dome Houston was Liam’s place of birth, where he lived his first fourteen years. It had been seven years since he ran away and he never ever considered the thought of going back.

Except if he went back… maybe he could find out what happened to his mom.

“Bingo!” O’Brien exclaimed. Similar to Liam, O’Brien had taken and instant liking to Scott’s retro lingo; and had made and inhuman effort to incorporate it into his daily speech much to the chagrin of everyone else. “You, Scott, Holland and myself are all part of **Team Alpha** and as such have the most important mission. We’ll tackle Dome Houston first since it’s the most strongly guarded Dome in Norte Americana and then we’ll make our way to Dome Soledad in Sur Americana.”

“Wait,” Scott started, sounding confused. “I thought you said that we were going to be a five person team,” he stated. “Who’s our fifth member?”

“Glad you asked!” O’Brien claimed as he tapped his holopad and an image of a woman with braided hair and determined eyes popped up. “Her name is Crystal, 25, and childhood friend of Holland in Dome Houston. She’s our inside person,” he announced and jod how could it have taken Liam _this long_ to realize he and Holland came from the same Dome? “Our first order of business once we breached Houston’s barrier is to make contact with her. Holland feels very confident that Crystal is the key to gaining access to that Dome’s jammer; hence it is up to Holland to recruit her to our cause. Are you two following this still?” O’Brien queried.

When both werewolves nodded in sync O’Brien sighed. “Okay, so here’s the difficult part,” he stated as he started tapping on his holopad again. “There’s another mission we must take care of before leaving Dome Houston,” he declared gaining more of the werewolves’ attention. “Apparently that Dome holds the blueprint to creating more jammers. Seeing as jammers are a bad thing, our secondary objective is to find that blueprint and destroy it.”

Scott nodded in understanding. “And do you know where to find it?”

O’Brien sighed again and shook his head. “Keahu tried to find it’s location but even he couldn’t crack their system that far,” he admitted with some disdain before sobering up. “But he did managed to track down the person who might know its location so it’s up to us to make contact. Ah, here it is,” O’Brien said as he tapped the holopad one more time to make the image of a suave looking man with sleeked back hair pop up.

And immediately Liam felt Scott flinching next to him. Liam gave Scott a worried glance before fixing his eyes on the hologram in front of them. The man in the image kinda looked familiar but no matter how he tried Liam couldn’t pinpoint from where in his memories he knew the guy from. That is until he realized that it wasn’t his memories he should be searching for. And the breath got stuck in Liam’s throat soon afterward.

“S-Scott, isn’t that-”

“Yes,” Scott answered voice hollowed and grip on Liam’s hand tightening the more he stared at the hologram. “ _That’s Peter Hale_ ”

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End?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> _I did not just do that!_
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> Playlist for this story is the following:
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> 1) “Cough Syrup” by Young the Giant  
> 2) “Future” by Paramore  
> 3) “Blurry” by Puddle of Mudd  
> 4) “Campfire Song Song” by Spongebob Squarepants  
> 5) “Final Masquerade” by Linkin Park  
> 6) “O’ Children” by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds  
> 7) “Part II” by Paramore  
> 8) “Anything For You” by Ludo (as suggested by PurgatoryJudgement)
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> I don’t actually have the time to make the playlist but anyone is _very welcome_ to do one for me. Peace out!
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> Thoughts?
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> **Edit: For any questions about a sequel to this story, check my profile for info.**


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